#but look a new post and it isn't about jim

[lenievi]

Now, I’m probably going to show how bad I am at interpreting and understanding scenes but...

(I’m not adding “I think” or “imho” everywhere because that’s a given. It’s just my understanding of this scene~)

McCoy does have a certain understanding of Vulcans, but he doesn’t understand everything (a note: Kirk didn’t believe Spock either)

SPOCK: I sensed it die. MCCOY: But I thought you had to be in physical contact with a subject before SPOCK: Doctor, even I, a half-Vulcan, could hear the death scream of four hundred Vulcan minds crying out over the distance between us. MCCOY: Not even a Vulcan could feel a starship die.

Vulcan telepathy is a mystery - humans don’t know what it can do, what Vulcans are capable of. McCoy, at this point, operates on what he knows - Vulcans need to be in a physical contact (it’s not true, but that’s the truth he knows).

SPOCK: Call it a deep understanding of the way things happen to Vulcans, but I know not a person, not even the computers on board the Intrepid, knew what was killing them or would have understood it had they known. MCCOY: But four hundred Vulcans?

McCoy has a high opinion of Vulcans, actually. It’s unimaginable to him that a ship full of Spocks, would be unable to understand something. That four hundreds Vulcans would all die. (this episode is kind of about the superiority of Vulcans tbh)

But Spock misunderstands what he was saying. The number wasn’t the point McCoy was trying to make, for him it was the fact that it was four hundred “Vulcans”.

SPOCK: I've noticed that about your people, Doctor. You find it easier to understand the death of one than the death of a million.

But Spock latches on the number, and his grief makes him say some pretty “quotable lines” tbh. And they serve as a commentary for the humanity (a commentary that is still true and will probably always be true).

Also, at this point in the series, Spock’s/Vulcan “it’s better to kill one person to save a hundred” philosophy was already perfectly established, so it’s also interesting to see this line here in the context of the show (and even the films). McCoy was never willing to understand “the death of the one”.

You speak about the objective hardness of the Vulcan heart, yet how little room there seems to be in yours.

I understand that this line could be read as directed at McCoy specifically, but considering the previous lines and McCoy’s response, I believe it’s still meant to mean all humans. Humans care when someone in front of them or someone close to them dies, when it’s far away, when they’re strangers “how little room there seem to be in their hearts”. High numbers are just statistics.

So you have a contrast between Vulcans valuing “the life of many” and humans valuing “the life of one”. (Making this only about McCoy is imho really simplistic but what do I know. Ofc it’s done through one Vulcan and one human, but they serve as a mirror to the bigger picture.)

MCCOY: Suffer the death of thy neighbour, eh, Spock? You wouldn't wish that on us, would you? SPOCK: It might have rendered your history a bit less bloody.

I guess I’m just not a fan of people interpreting this scene as antagonism (and worse) between Spock and McCoy*... when it’s just clashing of two different world views... they know each other, but they don’t understand each other. It’s not just McCoy who doesn’t understand Spock, it’s also Spock who doesn’t understand McCoy. And both are occasionally able to use words that cut the other one deeply.

* but I don’t see anything in the show as antagonism between them. I just don’t. I don’t see them as enemies or rivals, I wouldn’t even use the word frenemies. It’s just not that.

#tos nonsense #leonard mccoy #spock #the post doesn't want to show up in the tags so i'm just gonna repost it (if it still doesn't show then i guess maybe it's not meant to lol) #but look a new post and it isn't about jim #so sorry to the two of you who already liked it... it doesn't seem like it wants to show up in the tags now either...

[foodfightnovelization]

ROTTEN: Behind The Foodfight

Holy chips! It's an exciting time to be a Foodfight! fan, because ROTTEN: Behind The Foodfight is finally out! This really is THE definitive documentary on the insanity behind the movie, and it finally answers the question of just what was going on behind the scenes during production. Since I helped out with research (and I even get a short line of dialogue at 45:19) I've already seen everything that was shown off, but had to keep quiet until all the interviews were conducted and the documentary was finished. But now it's out and everything has been made public, the cat's out of the bag (the Fat Cat Burglar?) and I can talk about all the production material that's been shared.

Before I get into any of that though, I'd highly recommend you watch the documentary for yourself. It's insanely well researched and put together, and having worked together with Ziggy Cashmere (the documentary's creator) I know how hard he dedicated himself towards making this all possible. If it weren't for him, the most interesting Foodfight! discovery would've been finding the novelization, and we would have never gotten any real insight into how this movie came to be. It's also a documentary that really speaks for itself- I don't want to say too much about what it reveals since it's all expressed far better through its narrative and the interviews with people who actually worked on the project. My favorite is the interview with texture artist Mona Weiss- she tells such horrifying stories about how she was treated by Larry and other crewmembers, yet does it all with a sense of humor that makes it clear she's enjoying getting to talk about her crazy experiences. It's clear Foodfight! was an unmitigated disaster from start to finish, and there's nobody to blame for that but Larry Kasanoff himself. The movie was rotten from the top down and despite the countless talented animators and artists working on it, nothing could fix the fact that it was fundamentally mismanaged in the worst way possible. I think the quote from producer George Johnsen summarizes it best: "Foodfight! was a good idea that unfortunately lost its way during production. The technology, the art, and the direction were not in sync. Many very talented people gave their all to make the picture, but more understanding of process from the top was needed for it to succeed."

But if you saw the documentary, you already know all that, right? So instead, let's talk about the behind-the-scenes material that's finally been shared! You can find everything I'll talking about HERE on archive.org-

It's worth following the link and checking it out for yourself- there's so much it'd impossible to discuss everything. Artwork, storyboards, bloopers, models, a nude render of Lady X, an interview with Larry Kasanoff, the list goes on and it's still being updated! Despite the documentary already being out, people who worked on the movie are continuing to share new material! It's pretty incredible- for the past year I've ran this blog all I've really had to discuss are two tie-in books, and now there's so much Foodfight! material I can't even keep up with it.

I mean LOOK at all this, isn't it fantastic? The character art by Jim George showing off just how much better these designs originally were, the countless environments showing off just how stunning Marketropolis could've looked as well as the strength of the core idea "what if a supermarket came to life at night", and insanely detailed storyboards for a 7-minute pitch reel that was used to sell the movie to investors. Normally, I'd be ALL OVER this because it's all just incredible, but there's something far, FAR more fascinating than any of it.

There are even multiple drafts of the script (one from 2005 and one from 2007 respectively) and normally I'd be insanely fascinated by those too, making extremely detailed posts explaining the differences between the drafts and how they compare to the novelization, but there's something else that was found that blows ALL of this out of the water and is easily one of the most monumental lost media discoveries of ALL TIME.

That's right, a rough cut of the ENTIRE movie from 2005 has been found, containing nearly ALL the completed animation from earlier on in production. I mean, that's mindblowing right? We first got sent this around a month ago, a little while before the documentary came out, and I literally stopped everything I was doing at work to just sit and watch this. This is the closest we're ever going to get to the "original" version of Foodfight! after all- only 7 minutes of footage was ever actually made before they switched to mocap, made solely for the aforementioned pitch reel, and this workprint contains practically all of it! On top of that there are some great storyboards in here, as well as some truly hilarious ones cobbled together from 3D renders, and the plot is far better than what we ended up with, a lot of the more inappropriate jokes being absent. This rough cut is actually pretty similar to the novelization in that regard, and it also contains scenes that we'd previously only read about in there.

For example, in the novelization there's a snowmobile chase through the mountains, with Brand X soldiers on snowmobiles and a heavy avalanche close behind. This scene was completely left out of the movie itself, but in this workprint it's here! ALL the previously novelization-exclusive scenes are included, and this rough cut is seemingly based on an even earlier draft of the script than that- here Brand X are still defeated by a flood, whereas by the time of the novelization it'd been changed to a lightning storm. There are SO many exciting differences in this workprint, the snippets of original animation we get to see are SO good, and it's SO much better than the movie itself that I think it by far deserves the crown as the DEFINITIVE version of Foodfight! There's so much in it I want to discuss, that there's no way I can fit it all into this one post...so stay tuned, because in the next few days I'll be doing a FULL analysis of the 2005 workprint, pointing out all the extra brand mascots not in the finished film, and generally just gushing about how amazing it is.

I mean, this is it. Just take it all in for a second- the original footage was considered lost media for over a decade, and now it's practically been found in its entirety, embedded in an early cut of the whole movie...isn't that just phenomenal? All the mysteries have been unraveled, all the questions have been answered, and now we can relax, take a deep breath, and watch Foodfight!...the REAL Foodfight! Make sure to enjoy it, and join me next time for my analysis!

#Youtube #foodfight #dex dogtective #lady x #daredevil dan #polar penguin #rotten behind the foodfight

[brucewaynehater101]

Just read a fic about Tim finally getting post patrol ice cream and his own renovated room after admitting to never getting any unlike his siblings and now I'm imagining an AU

Imagine this, Tim is tired, pulling an all nighter, because he did too poor a job at pretending as Robin, and it's too late to do damage control. Not in front of villains or heroes alike

But the people

They've caught onto how the third robin receives less than the first two

Robin acts less like a child, less like a son to Batman, and more like a 'Business Partner's as he said with his own words. Like a handler

Robin who has to put work into keeping Batman from overexerting himself, from cruelly punishing those who fall victim to him

Robin who receives less praise or care from Batman and cares for both himself and his "Boss" as he said with his own words

And it gets worse after the mantle passes down to Stephanie and Damian because the people notices how even as Batman treats them better than the third, now rebranded as Red Robin—

—Red Robin is still as much a Business Partner to batman as he always has been since the Dark Knight's loss of his second bird

And as much as tries to keep things buried, word is spreading that Red Robin is black sheep of the batfamily, and he won't be able to hide it for much longer

Have fun with this idea lol

I know the fic you're talking about! "with the exception of..." by DSS1101. That's a good one!

"Home Decor" by sElkieNight60 is about Duke remodeling his room as part of the new Wayne member tradition. This brings up feelings in Tim cause his bedroom still looks like a barely used guestroom.

The concept you've mentioned gives similar vibes to a hc/au post I read about how JJ (Joker Junior) isn't known by anyone but the goons/Rogues, Barbara, Jim, and Bruce. All the other Bats don't know. In consideration of Tim, electric shock weapons are immediately put away when Red Robin arrives on scene (I love that idea so much).

I think, with the Gothamites around when Bruce was going on his grief spiral almost killing spree, people feel a kinship with Tim. They couldn't have stopped Batman and, with part guilt and part relief, it seems only a child could. They watch this child, who seems to be sacrificing everything for a brutal and cruel man, and how he pulls Batman back into the symbol he's supposed to be. It brings out the protective and parental instinct of a lot of people.

This cues civilians, goons, and rogues alike trying to assist Robin in small ways. Tim as Robin had people offering him food (in sealed containers), giving him compliments, handing him scarves or hats (how could Batman let a child out in this weather without a hat?!?!?), and more. They tried to give him small moments to be the child he was pretending he wasn't. He obviously wasn't getting decent parenting at home if Batman was just his boss and his real folks were letting him out to fight.

There's a kind of guilty gratefulness towards the third Robin and a protectiveness of him. All young Bats are treated with care by civilains and some goons, but Robin three was special. He willingly became the barrier between Batman and Gotham. A lot of folks owe their ability to work (and not have exorbiant medical debt and medical conditions) to Tim. He saved them by damning himself. He needed the support Batman obviously wasn't providing.

Tim, as intelligent as he is, doesn't realize the affect he has on Gotham's older population. The younger ones will react with slightly more respect towards him than the other Bats, but they weren't around to see what Tim's sacrifice did for everyone.

Tim, with his self-doubt and hero-worship of his predecessors, thought his treatment throughout Robin was the work of those who came before him. Of course Gothamites trust and help out Robin when Dick and Jason built that foundation.

He's not exactly wrong, but it isn't to the extent they actually do for Tim.

Unfortunately for Tim, Damian and Jason do know that his Robin was treated with such reverence. They don't know why, but their Robins did/do not get treated that way. They chalk it up to Tim being the "perfect" and "can do no wrong" Robin. It's one point of contention they are unable to clear up due to Tim not knowing about it and the other two not wanting to explain their jealousy.

Steph was not treated as well as Damian and Jason when she was Robin. She, in this AU, was not treated as much of a crutch as Tim is. Despite that, her Spoiler/Batgirl/whatever persona gets some of the protectiveness that Tim's personas do. Bruce was more healed with Steph, but he was still an ass. That was obvious to any Gothamite watching.

Steph, because she was around at the time and talks with Gothamites to know what rumors are floating around, becomes aware after her death of why Tim's Robin is held up with such respect. This allows, unknowingly to Tim, for them to reach more understanding. With her knowledge of Tim's time as Robin, she's able to point out how he was being an ass, what he should've done instead, and that she herself was sorry for some of her actions.

When more and more individuals cue into Tim's black sheep position in the Batfam, this could go two ways.

One, Tim is targeted more due to his lack of support.

Two, Gothamites and Rogues increase their aid to Red Robin and become slightly cold to the Bats for their treatment of him.

#dc comics #dc universe #tim drake #thank you for the ask!!!! #it's my hc that Tim's robin went through hell #part of the reason tim is great at making friends (even with people who have hurt him) is because he's trying to build Bruce's support grou #steph brown #jason todd #damian wayne #bruce wayne

[scriggle-scraggle]

Due South Fic Recs

Academic Punk by TheHoyden (RayK/Fraser): The quintessential college professor AU

Busted & its sequel Tapestry by JiM: A year after CoTW, and a life-changing experience, Ray goes back to Canada

Like a House on Fire by @bethbethbeth01 & kelliem (RayK/Fraser): “In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, ‘It’s deja vu all over again.’”

With Six You Get Eggroll by @cesperanza (RayK/Fraser): The story of how Ray & Fraser ended up with six kids.

Ray Is Not Actually Graphing The History Of His Relationship With Fraser–That Would Be Pathetic, And Ray Is Not Pathetic–But If He Was Graphing It, Even Just In His Own Stressed-Out, Messed-Up Brain, It Might Look Something Like This by sprat (RayK/Fraser): The sex has never not been good. That is not the confusing part of Ray-and-Fraser. They are naturals at the sex; the sex is their friend. If there was some kind of sexathalon, the two of them would be All-State, trophy-winning champs.

Like a House on Fire by Beth H (bethbethbeth): "In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, 'It's deja vu all over again.'"

Ping by Speranza: I am not the only person here who wants a do-over.

Tip, Slide, Tumble by j_s_cavalcante: Ray knew when he found the body in the alley it was going to change someone's life. He just didn't expect that life would be his.

All the Comforts of Home by rattlecatcher: post-CotW

Family Portrait by Journey [archived by dsa_archivist]: A slightly AU Ray Kowalski meets Constable Benton Fraser.

This Is Us Series by AuKestrel: how was the decision reached between Kowalski and Fraser to embark on the quest for the Hand of Franklin?

Near Wild Heaven Series by AuKestrel: This was, almost literally, the first thing I wrote, and certainly the first long thing I ever wrote. (Coming to Terms was the first "short" story I wrote and posted.) I worked on this off and on for over a year and did not write it in any kind of linear fashion. The first part was actually finished last, in part because I was stuck in getting them to a plausible misunderstanding that was necessary for the plot (such as it was). It's rough, and could have done with more work, although I did fix a lot of the (popular at the time, I swear!) dialect.

I'm posting it in part because I had SUCH a great time writing it (in fact, there are still parts of it that make me laugh), because I learned so much by/while writing it, and also because it's sort of "historical": a lot of the tropes in dS fandom did not exist when this was written (hard to believe, but there were only 27 F/K stories on Hexwood when I came into the fandom, and only about 5 of those had any kind of M/M sex!), and I thought it would be fun for other people to see how we earlier writers managed such things as tropes before they were tropes. But, in essence, you are about to read a "first novel," with all the alarm bells that ought to ring in your head.

Hawks and Hands by Dira Sudis (dsudis): Eighteen sex scenes strung together with angst and hockey.

Finding the Words by Berty: When luck finally runs out, who's there to pick up the pieces?

Wildly Courteous Ways by Starfish [archived by dsa_archivist]: A new assignment has Ray worried until Fraser steps in to help.

When the Ice Goes Out by Kellie Matthews [archived by dsa_archivist]: Long past CotW, Fraser and Ray K. discover that life both it and isn't as simple as it seems.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Wolves by Penelope Whistle [archived by dsa_archivist]: From stake-out to make-out.

Unguarded Protectorate by Bone [archived by dsa_archivist], Mairead Triste [archived by dsa_archivist]: Smut and angst. This story was previously published in the zine SERGE PROTECTOR.

Somewhere Else to Be by Kellie Matthews [archived by dsa_archivist]: This is an AU. Fraser's not a Mountie, Ray's not a cop, but as someone once said, things once linked remain that way. In any universe, they are meant to be partners.

The Reaching Out One by Alex51324: (AO3 account required) It's ten years after the events of CoTW (in other words, the present day). After the Quest, Fraser and Ray went back to their regular lives--

The Course by Bone [archived by dsa_archivist], Aristide [archived by dsa_archivist]: Randomness. Inevitability. Smut.

If It Walks Like A Duck . . . by Beth H (bethbethbeth): When an old friend of Ray Kowalksi's returns to Chicago, it takes almost no time at all for her to draw the obvious - and erroneous - conclusion about Ray and his "partner."

Genesis by kalena: In the beginning, Ray Kowalski meets Benton Fraser, geologist and volcano cowboy, in Hawaii. AU.

#ds30below #fic rec #due south #ray kowalski #benton fraser #rayk x fraser

[asoulwithadream]

TEASER REVIEW BECAUSE I'M DEAD

it's him. he's back. HE'S BACK. BESTIES HE'S BACK. i'm sick. his letter has caused my entire brain to shut down. "I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU. I LOVE BEING NEAR YOU. BREATHING THE SAME AIR" bestie how did you find ao3 in 1717? AND THEY GAVE US ALL THAT IN THE FUCKING TEASER TOO?????? dude he looks so fucking heartbroken– YEARNING RAAAAAAAH

THIS FUCKING SCENE— he CUSTOMISED THE TOPPERS TO LOOK LIKE THEM I'M CRYING SOBBING ROLLING ON THE FLOOR. omg omg omg omg they love eachother so much PLEASE. and poor sweet ed jesus he has been CRYING AND HE LOOKS SO EMPTY IM SICK IM DYING IM DEAD. i'm sick, i need the icu help. does this mean he's good at painting.

GOTH UNIFORMS. THEY'RE REAL. im so incredible sick frenchie has cat claws. HE HAS CAT CLAWS IM DYING. and JIM HAS A PAINTED BEARD and SHAVED SIDES. i'm actually going to burst into tears. my heart is going to stop at any moment. even FANG HAS A COOL NEW UNIFORM

i don't think i'm alive anymore at this point. THE PARALLEL. THE PARALLEL. and 9 guns he literally turned into the kraken. HE TURNED INTO THE VERY THING HE HATED HELP ME PLEASE (also did anyone notice the scene where he rose out of the ocean was very similar to potc??????? help??????) stede please stop looking lovingly out in the distance my heart has gotten enough beatings

competent stede in red. FABULOUS IM GOING TO CRYYY 2. izzy hands it's izzy isreal it's you PLEASE this is so reminisence of all the ao3 fics— izzy's finally realised what ed has become and needs to go find stede and bring ed back PLEASE HELP I'm GOING TO CRY IZZY AND STEDE BEING FRIENDS NO NO NO NO NO HELP HELP HELP HELP this is his road to self discovery and acceptance and love i'm feral

that's the same place mofos THAT'S THE SAME PLACE. THEY'RE CLOSE. omg they're going to end up FIGHTING EACHOTHER AREN'T THEY AREN'T THEY OR IS IT THE FIRST TIME THEY SEA EACHOTHER . (also, COMPETENT STEDE?????) HELP ME THEY'RE SO FIGHTING. OMG what if they're running TOWARDS EACHOTHER OKFLAIKHFL please this is insane i will cry david jenkins you have forsaken us all.

minnie what are you doing to stede. HE DOESn'T WANT IT. He'S UNCOMFORTABLE IN SUCH A STATE. LITERALLY THE NAME OF ONE OF THE EPISODES ANNE LEAVE HIM ALONE, (and do it to me) (please i'm desperate)

these two barbies are having the times of their lives.

im convinced that "susan" (whoever ruibo quan is playing) is a mermaid. buttons is being taught the way of the sea by her since she is part fish. she is setting him up with the ocean so they can make sweet love, instead of yearning like captain blondie and emo over there

WHO'S FALLEN IN A RIVER IN LEGO CITY. IT MUST BE SOMEONE ON BLACKBEARD'S SHIP MATES IS IT ED????? ED HAS FALLEN OFF A SHIP IN LEGO CITY. HELP ME WHAT IS GOING ON HERE. I NEED TO KNOW I NEED TO KNOW I NEED TO KNOW OMG THE REVENGE ISN'T SINKING ISN'T SHE??? PLEASE DON'T DO THAT TO ME

THIS IM SORRY BUT WEE JOHN IS LOOKING ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS, ROACH HAVING THE TIME OF HIS LIFE, AND IS THAT PETE THAT MUST BE PETE IT'S PETE ISN'T IT IT'S BLACK PETE. we don't have enough content with pete. YOU KNOW WHY? or else it would have to include LUCIUS. HAH. got you there david

well. that concludes my current rant. other parts of the trailer have been excluded bc they deserve their own posts OR others have phrased it better than me LMAO (yeah because what i wrote is peak shakespeare)

october 5th can't come fast enough help me

**UPDATE: FULL THEORY BASED ON THIS

#ofmd #our flag means death #rant #ofmd teaser rant #ofmd s2 #ofmd 2 #stede bonnet #ed teach #david jenkins #taika waititi #rhys darby #they're back they're really actually back #october 5th

[buckys-little-belle]

Oh my gosh I am OBSESSED with your new cg!Garret series! Can you please write a chapter where Joyce brings by cookies or something for a Hellfire meeting, and runs into little bunny, and El doesn’t understand that reader wants their regression to be a secret, and tells Joyce, and little bunny gets super embarrassed but then Joyce comforts them and tells them it’s okay🥺💛

Hellfire Babysitting Club : The Sequel (Part Three)

Pick-Up Problems

Gareth Emerson x Little!Reader (They/Them Pronouns used) / The Hellfire Club x Little!Reader (They/Them Pronouns used)

Notes - THIS IDEA HAS BEEN IN MY HEAD FOR FOREVER, please know that this request really brought a spark back when it comes to writting <3. I really hope that you like it Bub!!!

Warnings - Little Bunny is "Outed" as a little by El, obviously that might be very touchy for some, please keep that in mind going forward. Very very brief mentions of not great home life, as well as possible Jim Hopper intervention. (It's very vague, and will not be talked about in detail. Please know that it isn't meant to be purposefully triggering, and is just a background theme) fluff, lotssssss of fluff

SFW - Please keep all interactions with this post, and this blog, SFW

. ☾ . ☆ . ☽ . ☆ . ☾ . ☆ . ☽ . ☆ . ☾ . ☆ . ☽ .

The first week of school had gone well, Y/n sticking by Gareth's side as the others learned more about them. Everyone realizing how shy, quiet, and weary their Little Bunny was, and how opposite they were from Little Terror.

The second week of school had been a bit all over the place. Everyone immediately signed up to babysit Little Bunny at school, some choices were easy for Gareth to make. Though El was new to everything she would take Y/n for the first period of the day because they shared an english class. Then Dustin would take over for the second period, his Tech Design class right next to Y/n's math class. Gareth selfishly didn't let anyone take anymore shifts off him, keep Little Bunny to himself for both lunch, and the rest of the day.

He kept telling himself he would give more people the opportunity to take care of Y/n, but he wanted to know Y/n better than everyone else. Hence the obnoxious amount of questions Little Bunny was asked at lunch, during Study Hall, and on the way to science.

"What's your favourite type of juice? Colour? Movie? Class subject? Food? Store? Do you have lot's of toys? Does anyone know you're a little? If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

And even though he did a good job asking fun questions, plus a few insightful ones, he never asked how they would get home after a DnD meeting. The club met after school and Y/N took the bus.

Little Bunny also never asked, which they regretted as they stood outside the school, their sweater pulled close, backpack sagging, wondering how long it would take to walk.

"Hi there." A sweet voice called, Y/n's eyes meeting the voice's owner as they took a step back. "I'm Joyce, Will and El's mom." She explained after noticing Y/n's confusion.

"Mom!" El called out as she ran over to hug her. "You've met our baby." El beamed.

"Your baby?" Joyce's brow furrowed.

"Yes, Y/n sometimes feels like a baby, so we take care of them." El smiled as she walked to Y/n reaching to hold their hand. "I call them Little Cheese Fingers."

"Oh." Joyce's reaction worried Y/n, the look of confusion feeding into their fear of people finding out. Y/n was about to pull their hand out of El's before Joyce spoke again. "Did Eddie start the Babysitting club again?" She asked with a smile.

"No, but Gareth did." Y/n felt a weight rise of their shoulder as El spoke. "I get to watch Y/n during english." The way she spoke so happily about her duty made Y/n smile, the fear of being a burden dispersing.

"Well Y/n." Joyce began. "Are you waiting for a parent to pick you up?" She asked, as if she just knew Y/n was momentarily stranded.

"No." Little Bunny whispered, Y/n's hand slipping from El's as they suddenly felt alone again. "'m on my own." They held back their tears.

"They take the same bus as us." Will suddenly chimed in, Mike and Dustin following after.

"Okay then it's settled." Joyce wrapped an arm around her son. "You can get a ride home with El and Will." She smiled. "Me or their dad will pick you up, okay?" Y/n nodded their head quickly. "And you two." She pointed to her children. "Better make sure Y/n is safe on the bus." She pulled out her stern voice and it made everyone giggle.

"Yes, Mom." Will rolled his eyes. "They take turns sitting beside me and El." He assured her.

"Y/n likes me more, I give them candy." El accidently gave away her secret weapon, Mike scoffing.

"Really?" He looked at El, then Y/n. "All I have to do is give you candy? Then you'll like me?" His tone was goofy, his eyebrows raised.

"I like choc chips more." Y/n smiled shyly, still uneasy around all the new people, but trying hard to embrace the change.

"Cookies I can do." Mike crossed his arms and smiled, a silent promise to arrive the next day and earn Y/n's friendship.

"You know, Max has a really good cookie recipe." Dustin mumbled. "Maybe Lucas will let us crash his date." Before his sentence was even finished him and Mike began running over to where Lucas and Gareth were chatting.

"Is everyone ready to go?" Joyce laughed.

"Wait!" Gareth yelled out of breath. "I didn't get to say goodbye." He raised a fist for both El and Will to bump, but when he got to Y/n they ran into his arms instead. "Goodbye to you too." He laughed, his arms wrapping around his Little Bunny.

"Do you have everything you need for Y/n?" Joyce's stern tone rung out.

"Yes, Mrs H, we still have lots of stuff left over from Little Terror." Gareth looked down to Y/n who's head was still smushed against his shirt. "Actually does your store have sippy cups?"

"Sippy cups?"

"I know it sounds odd, but ever since Little Terror somehow got juice on the ceiling, handing this one a juice box freaks me out."

"The ceiling?" Will cut in.

"Dude Little Terror once got so much ketchup on Eddie's shirt he had to throw it out. And he wore stained shirts more than he wore clean ones." Gareth added, suddenly very thankful for Y/n's calm demeanor.

"Yes, we have sippy cups, and forks with soft ends, as well as baby wipes." Joyce listed out everything she thought might be useful.

"Great, I'll make sure to stop by." He went to take a step back and walk to his own car, but Y/n clung on. "I've got to go Bunny." He chuckled.

"Me too." The managed to say, their words muffled by Gareth's shirt.

"I have candy." El yelled from the car, Y/n's head suddenly lifted. "Told you it works." She said as Will rolled his eyes and Y/n ran towards them.

"They're very sweet." Joyce smiled as she watched her kids help Y/n get comfortable. "You should come over for dinner more often, and bring Y/n. They look like they could use some more company." she said solemnly.

"Yeah about that." Gareth scratched the back of his neck. "Could you ask Jim to swing by my house after his shift?"

"Sure, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just have a few questions, that's all."

#age regression fic #age regression #little!reader #hellfire club x little reader #hellfire club #gareth stranger things #gareth x reader #gareth emerson #little reader #little fic #stranger things fic #stranger things age regression #stranger things #gareth x little!reader #Gareth x little reader

[sourwolf-sterek32]

Serve & Protect

Summary: You moved to the small quiet town of Hawkins after transferring from the NYPD and reunite with your old partner, Jim Hopper. However, Hawkins isn't as quiet as it seems, and your past follows you there.

Pairing: Jim Hopper x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 3.5k

Warnings: Language, brief mentions of past assault

Previous Chapter

Chapter 8- Soap

It had been nearly seven months since you helped Hopper and the party close the gate to the Upside Down. Nearly seven months since you found out that monsters existed. But that wasn't what was keeping you up at night.

What was keeping you up at night was the letter that had appeared by your front door two days ago.

A letter from Hank, your old work partner back in New York.

Sure, he was still in the force and had access to the system so it wouldn't have been hard for him to search your name and find your new address and post the letter. That wasn't the problem. The problem was the envelope didn't have a stamp. He didn't post the letter from New York. He hand delivered it.

He was here. 

In Hawkins.

He had followed you from New York to the middle of bumfuck nowhere in Indianna.

"How long has it been since you slept?"

You looked up from your desk to find Hopper walking into the station and you quickly flipped the letter over so he couldn't see.

"Dunno." You shrugged.

He sighed walking over and leaning against the side of your desk.

"I get it. I didn't sleep much when I first found out about the Upside Down."

"It's not that." You replied, but instantly regretted it when he asked;

"Then what is it?"

A part of you wanted to tell him the truth. He was the Chief of Police if anyone could help it was him. But there was a small voice in the back of your head telling you that he wouldn't help. Hank was still a Police Officer. There was an unwritten rule between the boys in blue and that was you protected each other, no matter what.

That's what happened when you had tried to tell your old boss about it. He just swept it under the rug, no action taken not even a warning, nothing. But Hopper was different. He wasn't like those other officers, and he was your best friend. He could help you.

"Morning, boss. Morning, Y/N." Callahan greeted in a tone that was way too chirpy for a Monday morning.

"It doesn't matter." You replied quietly to Hopper before looking over at Callahan who was walking into the station. "Morning, Cal."

Hopper remained leaning against your desk for a few seconds like he was debating whether to push the topic or not before he eventually nodded.

"Alright. I got a bunch of statements to get through today. Powell has called in sick, so it's just you two on patrol."

"Copy that, Chief. I just gotta check my emails then we can head out, Y/N."

The rest of the day was spent in the patrol car with Callahan listening to him rant about his next-door neighbour. Listening to his problem kept you distracted from your own and before you knew it, you were walking back into the station at the end of the shift.

"Anything you want us to do before we head home, Chief?" Callahan shouted, already taking off his belt assuming Hopper would say no.

"No, you can go. Y/N, can I see you in my office?" Came Hoppers reply.

"Ohhh, you're in trouble." Callahan teased like a school kid.

You flipped the other deputy off, "don't let the door hit you on the way out."

Callahan snorted, "thanks. See ya tomorrow."

You walked across the office and knocked on Hopper's door that was slightly ajar.

"Come in."

You pushed the door open further and leant against the doorframe to find Hopper sitting at his desk with a troubled expression. Great, what had happened?

"Do you have anything you wanna tell me?" He asked in his serious Chief of Police tone that he rarely used on you.

That tone had you standing up straight at attention like you were back at the damn Police Academy about to get yelled at by your Drill Sergeant for square gating while trying to march.

"No?" You said, but it sounded more like a hesitant question than any form of answer.

You thought back to everything you and Callahan had done today, but it was a fairly quiet shift and neither of you had done anything that would get you in trouble, unless-

"Did Mrs. Colson file another complaint? I pulled her over for speeding again and-"

"Not that. This." Hopper said, cutting you off and holding up a piece of paper for you to see.

The letter.

Shit.

You glanced over your shoulder towards your desk where the letter had been sitting, but as suspected, it was gone.

"You went through my stuff?" You questioned, folding your arms across your chest.

"Flo was cleaning the office, it fell off your desk. She saw the first sentence and gave it straight to me." Hopper calmly explained.

"Damnit Flo." You muttered under your breath.

"Sit down." He ordered but his tone was gentler now as he pointed to the chair in front of his desk.

You sighed but did as you were told. Hopper placed the letter down on the desk and your eyes raked over the words that you had read nearly 100 times by now.

'Y/N, You think you can run from me? I've found you and not even your old partner can save you. I'll see you soon.'

"Who wrote this?"

You looked back at Hopper his voice was stern, but his eyes were full of worry.

"It's a long story." You sighed.

Hopper leant forward resting his elbows on his desk as he stared at you. "I have time. Now start from the beginning."

You took in a deep breath, hating how shaky it sounded as you thought about Hank and everything he had done.

"It was a few weeks after you left New York." You began to say. "I got assigned a new partner and he was... well, he wasn't a nice person. I mean, at first, he wasn't too bad. He was a bit of a dick, but most male Police Officers were assholes towards me, so it wasn't much different. I dealt with it. A couple years went by, but he just kept getting worse. I eventually told the boss, but Hank didn't like that and surprise, surprise, the Superintendent didn't care either. Things got bad after that."

"Bad how?"

"The details don't matter, but it ended in a restraining order and him getting demoted back down to beat cop."

"Restraining order?" Hopper questioned in shock.

"The restraining order meant nothing to him though. He still found ways to follow me. It actually made things worse. He tried to make my life a living hell because he blamed me for the demotion instead of his own stupid actions. But the boss wouldn't fire him or do anything about it, so I asked for a transfer. And then two days ago, this letter was at my door."

Hopper remained silent for a moment, his jaw clenched shut as he took this information in but the more seconds that ticked by, the angrier he looked.

"This asshole was harassing you even with a restraining order in place and now he's found your new address and sent you this threatening letter?"

You nodded, "yep."

"Jesus Christ." He rubbed his face with his hands. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." You lied.

Hopper gave you a pointed look, seeing straight through your obvious lie and you sighed.

"Okay, no. I'm not okay. I'm scared. Is that what you want to hear?"

"I'm not going to let him hurt you."

"He's still a cop." You pointed out.

"So?" Hopper responded like that wasn't a big deal. "He might be a cop, but I'm the Chief. Hawkins is my jurisdiction. If he steps foot in this town, he'll regret it."

You smiled softly, fiddling with your hands in your lap not knowing what else to say because this was the first time one of your bosses took your side and you had no idea how to respond.

"Hey." Hopper said, leaning over the desk and grabbing your hand. "You tell me if any more letters show up, okay?"

"Okay."

-

The following two weeks flew by without any more letters. You were starting to think that Hank had just been bluffing trying to scare you, which had worked but he wasn't in Hawkins. It was a small town, if he was here, you would have found out by now.

"I can't handle it. That stupid boy is always coming over to visit El." Hopper continued to rant like he had been doing for the past few weeks about Mike Wheeler. "I can't even remember a day when I didn't see him. He might as well pay me fucking rent for how often he's at the cabin."

You currently sat in the passenger seat of the Chevy with Hopper cruising through Hawkins on patrol. Downtown was quiet. It had been ever since the new Starcourt Mall opened up a couple weeks ago.

The mall was great. It had so many new stores and food shops, it even had a cinema. However, downtown had been impacted greatly by the malls popularity and just driving down what used to be the main street, it was obvious the stores here were struggling to get business.

"He's El's boyfriend, Hop. They're gonna want to spend time together." You reminded, glancing over at him.

"She's too young to have a boyfriend."

"Oh, really? I do remember you once telling me about your first kiss at the ripe age of 10."

Hopper's head snapped in your direction, "I did not tell you about that."

"You didn't. But drunk you is very talkative. I got a lot of details too." You smirked and Hopper groaned rubbing his face with his hands.

"When?"

"The night we solved that triple homicide in Queens. We went to the bar to celebrate and, well, you had a lot to drink."

"Oh, God. I barely remember that night. Didn't you have to drive me home?" He asked, glancing over at you.

"Yep. It was super late, and you were soooo drunk. Diane let me crash on your couch instead of driving home at 3am, but she was not impressed with you. Especially after you knocked over that lamp and woke..." You trailed off, unsure whether to finish that sentence or not.

Hopper never spoke about his late daughter. You could count on one hand the number of times he had mentioned her name since you moved to Hawkins. He didn't like talking about her, so you weren't going to bring it up, although it was obvious what you had been about to say and by the sudden silence in the car, Hopper knew it too.

"...I woke up Sara."

You glanced over at Hopper to find him staring straight ahead at the road while he drove. He didn't seem angry that you had mentioned her. He didn't seem sad either, in fact, he was almost smiling.

"Sara was just a baby." He sighed, and yep, that was a definite smile on his lips. "The second that lamp crashed against the tiles I knew I was dead. Sara just started screaming and then Diane was shouting, and I just remember you abandoning me to go settle Sara, leaving me alone with my angry wife. Thanks for that by the way."

You chuckled, "I sure as fuck wasn't getting in the middle of your little domestic dispute that was for sure."

Hopper snorted softly before he pulled the car up in front of Melvald's General Store and you both climbed out and wandered through the front door.

"Hey." Joyce greeted from your left, and you glanced to the side to find her hanging up a large sale sign in the front window.

"Hey, Joyce." You smiled, walking further into the store.

"Hey. You busy?" Hopper asked, although by the lack of people in the store, you could probably guess the answer.

"You're our first customer, so..." She trailed off and Hopper must have pulled a face because Joyce sighed, "what now?"

"Don't even get him started. He's been complaining about the kids all morning." You teased, bumping your shoulder into Hoppers playfully causing him to push you away gently. "Okay. Okay. Hint received. I will be over there in that aisle, far away so I don't have to listen to this all again."

Hopper rolled his eyes at you, and you stuck your tongue out at him causing Joyce to laugh before you wandered off further into the store while Hopper began ranting about Mike and El to a new set of ears.

"I need for them to break up." You heard Hopper declare a few minutes later.

You snorted softly while flicking through a magazine you found pretending to be reading while actually just listening to Hopper bicker and moan because it was more entertaining than this Cosmo.

"That is not your decision." Joyce reminded.

"They're spending entirely too much time together. You agree with me about that, right?"

"Well, I mean, they're just kissing, right?"

"Yeah, but it is constant. It is constant. Okay? That is not normal, that is not healthy-"

"Tell that to 10-year-old you and Judith Smith behind the bleachers!" You shouted from across the store.

"You!" Hopper warned, turning around and pointing at you sternly, but you knew there was no real heat behind his actions. "You can shut up. I can't believe I ever told you that."

"You and Judith Smith made out when you were 10?" Joyce questioned in a mixture of disbelief and disgust.

Oh, shit, that's right. Joyce had gone to the same school as them.

You couldn't stop yourself from bursting out laughing causing Hopper to glare at you, but that only made you laugh harder before he turned back to Joyce.

"Ignore my Deputy, she doesn't know what she's talking about." Hopper responded, causing Joyce to raise her eyebrows, not believing him in the slightest. "Anyway, El and Mike-"

"You can't just force them apart. I mean, they're not little kids anymore. They're teenagers." Joyce continued to say getting back into the other topic.

You zoned out while she told him to talk to the kids and have a heart-to-heart with them. She grabbed a notepad and wrote down some words like a little script for him to follow to help guide him during his talk with the kids.

It was a good idea, but you were willing to bet that Hopper won't follow the script.

You sat on the edge of the register desk with a new magazine while Joyce made Hopper practice saying the little speech aloud, trying to get him to memorise it without looking at the notes.

"... to sharing our feelings... This isn't gonna work." Hopper declared, cutting himself off and shaking his head. "It's not gonna work. It's not gonna work."

"Yes, it will! I promise. Come on." Joyce insisted, but Hopper was already standing up still shaking his head.

"Maybe I'll just kill Mike. I'm the Chief of Police, I could cover it up."

"I think that's kinda, like, slightly illegal." You called out.

Suddenly, the shop doorbell jingled catching you all off guard because you had been sitting around for close to 20 minutes now and not one customer had walked in.

"Oh, a customer. Hey, Judith!" Joyce greeted, getting to her feet and walking over to the other woman.

Your head snapped up at the familiar name and you jumped down from the bench just as Hopper hurriedly made his way over to you as if he knew exactly what you were thinking.

"Judtih Smith?" You asked curiously walking over to her and Joyce.

The other woman looked over at you with a kind smile, "yes. That's me. Do I know you?"

Before you could say anything further Hopper suddenly grabbed your arm and started to pull you away towards the front door.

"Nope. My Deputy is new here. Sorry, we gotta go. Bye Joyce!" Hopper shouted over his shoulder, already pushing you out the front door while you tried and failed to contain your laughter.

Judith Smith. She was the girl that young Hopper had been kissing under the school bleachers. It was her.

What were the chances?

"Get in the car." Hopper muttered, gently nudging you towards the vehicle.

"But-" You tried to say between fits of laughter before Hopper cut you off.

"Not a word. Not a damn word."

-

The rest of your shift went by uneventfully. You spent most of it laughing about Judith Smith while Hopper pretended to be annoyed, but you knew he found it hilarious too. He just wouldn't admit it.

"Goodluck with El and Mike." You said, climbing out the car once you got back to the station at the end of the day.

Hopper sighed from the driver's seat, "thanks, I'm gonna need it."

You rolled your eyes, "you'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

Hopper waved and you closed the passenger side door before he reversed out the parking lot and you wandered over to your truck and climbed inside, ready to go home after the long shift.

Once home you slipped your boots off and threw your keys on the kitchen bench before going to your bedroom and grabbing some clean clothes, looking forward to a nice warm shower before cooking dinner.

You made your way to the bathroom, placing your clean clothes on the sink before you leant into the shower and turned it on, giving the old hot water system time to kick into gear and heat up. Unclasping your duty belt, you pulled it off putting it down on the sink before kicking off your pants and throwing your work shirt and clothes on the floor in a pile to deal with later.

You stepped into the shower, your body relaxing under the warm flow of water above. You could easily stand there for hours, but you definitely couldn't financially afford such luxuries, so you got to work on washing your hair.

You thought back to Hopper wondering how he was going with the kids while you closed your eyes and rinsed the shampoo out from your hair before blindly reaching for the soap.

Grabbing it from the holder on the wall, you were about to start washing yourself when you felt strange bumps on the side of the soap.

What the hell?

Wiping the water from your face with your free hand, you opened your eyes and looked down at the bar of soap in confusion. But your stomach dropped when you saw the bite mark on the side of the soap.

It was a human bite mark. There were teeth pattens on it.

Someone had bitten a chunk off your soap.

A horrible realisation hit you like a truck. It was Hank. It had to be.

He dropped the letter off at your front door weeks ago and now he had broken into your house and did this... wait, what if he was still inside?

The soap slipped from your trembling fingers, and you cautiously peaked out from around your shower curtain, but the bathroom was still empty.

He could still be in the house.

Oh, God.

Leaving the shower running, not wanting to tip him off that you were leaving if he happened to be listening, you stepped out and grabbed your oversized shirt from the sink with shaky hands and pulled it on, not bothering to dry yourself with a towel or wasting time with other clothes.

You slipped your handgun from the holster on your duty belt, flicking the safety off already knowing it was fully loaded.

Slowly, you reached for the door handle, your gun raised with one hand before you opened it, expecting Hank to be standing there but he wasn't. Cautiously you stepped out the bathroom, gripping your gun tightly with both hands before you began to sweep your house like you were trained to do, clearing rooms and searching for the suspect.

You did a full internal patrol of your own house, but he wasn't there.

Every door and window were double checked for signs of forced entry, but there was nothing. After making sure said doors and windows were locked and secure, you returned to the bathroom and turned the shower off.

The half-bitten bar of soap sat on the tiles of the shower, but you ignored it and hastily got changed before grabbing a duffle bag and shoving your required belongings inside. You slipped your belt around your waist, the gun back in the holster before you grabbed a plastic bag and put the soap inside.

A few minutes later you were back in your car and driving to the Police Station, the only place Hank wouldn't dare come to.

To your relief, Flo had gone home, and nobody was on nightshift minus Deputy Powell who was on call, but you knew he wouldn't come to the station unless a big job came up, so you had the place to yourself.

You dumped your bag on your desk and sat down but after nearly an hour in the office chair, you migrated out to the cells. The thin mattress in the cell wasn't too comfortable either, but eventually you dozed off to sleep. 

-

Next Chapter

If anyone wants to be tagged just let me know

MASTERLIST pinned to profile

#stranger things #jim hopper #jim hopper fanfic #jim hopper x reader #jim hopper x y/n #jim hopper imagine #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fanfiction #david harbour #pov

[bomberqueen17]

progress etc

god it's less than a week to christmas. ok cool. yeah. great. all right.

i am. what have i been doing??? i don't know. I've sewn several things-- most notably a pair of leggings-- and the house renovations have progressed to the point that we're getting final measurements for counters tomorrow. I'll put pictures behind the cut. We painted the ceiling ourselves, as paint isn't included in the remodel.

I don't remember what I last posted pictures of. IDK there's a floor now, I didn't take pictures of that yet.

ok i was wrong i do have one photo of the floor but it's in-progress, max is in the background wedging it in between the cabinets.

[image description: an awkward angle looking down standing in the side door entryway, with the blue-washed gray side of a new cabinet facing me, some of the plywood subfloor exposed coated in glue, mottled gray fake stone tiles laid out and the hunched form of a man in a gray sweatshirt kneeling on the floor in the background with his head hidden behind the cabinet. Listen I wasn't trying to be creepy.]

it's fake stone vinyl tiles. i know, not normally my aesthetic, and it's probably the thing that'll look most dated in a little bit, but there was no point trying to do anything wooden or wood-look because the rest of the house has original hardwood from 1950 and anything new wouldn't match. (the hardwood badly needs refinishing, let's not contemplate that right at this juncture...)

Max is from Elmira, btw, and only moved to Buffalo a year ago-- just in time for the blizzard to absolutely destroy his first apartment here and wreck most of his stuff. It was a bit of a harsh welcome to the city. He's soft-spoken and extremely polite and doesn't really know how to talk to me, not the way Jim the installer (fiftysomething and very experienced) does. He did gently laugh at me when I left yesterday and then immediately had to come back to get my keys, which I had locked inside the house (but of course as he was still there the other door was still unlocked). "I grew up in the kind of place where you don't bother locking doors," I said, and he was like "lol same".

(I know Elmira because Middle-Little went to college there. It's a sort of dire little place in the Southern Tier-ish region of NY, a couple hours away. The region is fairly economically devastated, alternating crushing rural poverty with Tourism Dollars; Elmira itself boasts a college, a prison, and precious little else.)

Anyway-- painting the ceiling over the weekend, I discovered that the real life hack for painting a ceiling is for at least one member of your party to be six feet three inches.

[image description: my dude, a tall thin white man in an uncharacteristic ball cap he's only wearing to avoid paint splatter (it is embroidered with the HTML tags <head> on the front and </head> on the back, and was a gift to him in like 2002) is standing on the cardboard-and-sheet-draped floor of the kitchen using a paint roller on the ceiling, which he can reach easily; in front of him the cabinets are all draped in old sheets as well and there's a random light bulb sticking out because the installer wired that in for us to use as a work light since the electricians haven't installed the ceiling lights yet which was why it was an ideal time for us to paint said ceiling.]

Anyway it's going great. The counters won't go in until January sometime, but early January. The electricians plan to come the day after Christmas and I won't be there until the afternoon so I'm going to check in with Jim today about what they'll need.

Meanwhile, I remembered that I hadn't set myself the goal of crafting anything for Christmas except I bought a bunch of scarf blanks from Dharma Trading to dye as gift wraps and gift components and my basement is all torn apart and I don't dare make that kind of mess in my mother-out-law's basement so I need to work out how to get that done so I'm really kind of slogging through that, a bit.

OH i just went to look at what the last pictures I posted of the kitchen were and the answer is LIKE NONE so omg sorry here's before we painted the ceiling, where you can see what it's gonna look like!

[image description: This is View A, from the side door toward the front of the house. Along the left of the photo is a line of cabinets, a set on the ground and then another mounted up on the wall; in the middle of that will be the sink, and then farther down a dishwasher (!!!) and beyond that the stove, all along that north wall of the house. The middle of the photo is the big bay window we had installed, and there are cabinets along the front of it: the countertop will extend out from those, and will form a seating area. To the right of the window, the front door is now visible, that little wall having been removed and now being a wide-open space into the entryway. The right of the photo is the interior wall of the kitchen, now transformed into a built-in pantry space with a fridge hole in the middle, where the extra flooring tiles are currently stacked.]

[image description: this is View B, from the front door into the kitchen. The foreground is the big open space where the wall was removed; the bay window is just out of frame to the right, and the far wall shows the empty space (now containing buckets of floor glue and a roll of cardboard) where the stove will be, and above it will be an extractor hood (no more Everything Smells Like Salmon!!), and the empty space (now filled with a rolling garbage can the contractors are using) for the dishwasher, and then the little window right above the sink-- this is a detail we've kept from the old kitchen, that's where the sink was and that's where the window, but the window seems bigger because the cabinets aren't packed so tightly around it now-- and you can see the side door there, and then the left of the photo shows the edge of the pantry unit where the fridge will go.]

It's a much more open space, both of us can be in there, someone doing dishes while you cook is no longer the world-ending inconvenience it historically has been, and also now you can talk to someone in the living room while you're in the kitchen without needing to holler.

Yeah the gray cabinets are-- well they're pale wood washed with dilute blue, is what they are, and all the hard fixtures are in neutral shades like that, grays and gray-blues, and the countertops will be white with tiny sparkles, and the idea is that the big wall to the west and the little bits of wall around the windows will be painted some bold color we'll match with like throw rugs and hot mats and other changeable fixtures, so the kitchen can get "redecorated" with a new coat of paint and not clash with the hard fixtures. This job cost five figures, we're not re-redoing it during our lifetimes.

#about the author #home remodel #etcetera

[xeno828]

Trollhunters Ending FIXED!!!

So....I've recently binged this entire series, fell in love with it and promptly gotten heartbroken at the shitty ending the movie gave us. SO!!!! I have seen many people hating on the ending and pretending it and the movie didn't exist. I came up with an idea that I am permanently using as a replacement for the ending that I'm pretty happy with. I can't write dramatically for shit BUT I can scribble ideas! If anyone wants to flesh this out into a one shot fic PLZ TAG ME JUST SO I CAN READ IT!!!!!

(also this is gonna read more like a screen play for a movie cus I'm a vid editor and that's how I picture stuff, doesn't always translate well into a written story! 😅)

--------------

- So everything stays the same up until Jim uses the kronosphere to go back in time

- Instead of going back to the beginning and changing everything, he travels back to when the Arcane order had finally gotten a hold of the real Nari

- Everything is still happening around him but is dead silent as if he were deaf and in slight slo mo as he gets his bearings (not actually deaf, just that kinda cinematic idea for drama!!)

- Looks around and sees everyone alive gathered around (maybe some sappy or quiet music plays on top of him seeing everyone alive, I dunno!!!)

- As this is the past they don't know Jim just came from the future and are instead focused on glaring at something

- IRL sound hits back in like a huge thud, LOUD AF!!!!

- Jarring Jim to turn around and see the Arcane order hovering in that same ball of magic that surrounded them the first time (that's what everyone is glaring at btw!)

- This is when realization for Jim sets in and he knows this is his second chance

- The music from the credits in the original film (or something like that) starts to build up (in my head it's like him and the music are going "not this fucking time!")

- He transforms into his new armour (either cus it came back in time with him or cus now he knows about the 9th configuration, your choice!)

- Camera and everything is focused on the transformation as the music is building but you can see everyone in the background looking either shocked or like "HELL YEAH!!" when they see Jim finally transforming again

- Quick dramatic shot focusing on the Arcane order still performing their spell, t

- Some sort of cheesy/bad ass hero shot showing off everyone gathered together as the "9th configuration" and ready to kick ass

- Close up on Belroc looking pissed as they realize Jim has transformed and everyone is gathered to fight

- Equally cheesy close up on Jim quietly but determinedly saying something like "not this time" or "my turn" (I can't do dialogue I'm sorry!!!;)

- Jim jumps into fight with everyone following behind

- Final shot of everyone running toward the camera (Arcane order) and cuts to black with Jim swinging Excalibur at the camera.

- As it cuts to black the outro music (roughly 20 secs into it) hits the beat drop at the same time as the credits start!

--------------

Cliffhanger-ish ending, doesn't get rid of the whole story, leaves it up to imagination on who still lives and dies, doesn't undo character development, has more of a feel good "HELL YEAH!!" ending to it (at least for me!) Doesn't feel like a definite ending but has enough to still feel like Trollhunters isn't just over and wrapped up nice and nearly with a pretty bow! For me this works and I'm happy to pretend this is canon. Tbh 90% sure this looks cooler in my head than how it's written down, I might get round to making a vid edit for it on YouTube (cus that's my specialty) but dunno if anyone actually wants to see that!

As I said I'm not a writer so apologies for this chaos!! I don't usually post these things that I think about (cus I've also imaged a better ending for game of thrones!) But I just really wanted to share this in case someone else also enjoyed the concept or in case anyone wants to translate this mess into something coherent!

Anyway, rant done and idea written out, go have fun with it you want, just plz tag cuz I wanna read if you! 😭🙏

#trollhunters #trollhunter rise of the titans #fixed ending #jim #claire #toby #aja #krel #douxie #archie #james lake jr #jim lake jr #jim lake junior #jlaire #claire nuñez #rise of the titans #rott #steve #aja tarron #krel tarron #hisirdoux casperan #hisirdoux #magic #merlin #fix it fanfiction #fix it fic

[dailycass-cain]

How I Came to Appreciate Batgirl: Redemption Road More...

Once upon a time, I wasn't really fond of this story. I hated and loathed it. Since 2020 however, I gained a greater appreciation for the mini-series. Now it isn't on the top tier of Cassandra Cain stories, but I don't see it lower tier list anymore.

Why?

Well, I'm going to tell you, and maybe you'll appreciate this story too.

I fully confess this story more as a "Schrödinger's Cassandra Cain" story. There is a lot of bad in it, and yet there is a lot of good in it. First off, the one element I do enjoy is the art by Jim Calafiore.

There's a grit Calafiore brings to this story. It helps balance the good and the bad. The good is that he draws a very scary Cass. That and I do enjoy the opening homage to a certain two-clawed Wolverine in the opening spread:

Now for the very title of the series, you can interpret "redemption road" as two-fold: in writer Adam Beechen redeeming not only Cassandra in the eyes of the Bat-Family but redeeming himself with readers for well turning her heel back in Robin #150 and "Titans East" (Teen Titans #42-47). Cause let's face it-- it was not a good story by any means and did neither Cass or Beechen any further favors (but I digress, Geoff Johns, plotted that all out and there are "reasons" for Slade getting away free).

You have those factors and this little tale. So at Wizardworld Chicago 2008 I attended a panel where the infamous Dan DiDio revealed that Beechen bugged him for pitches and the one of approved was this mini.

He also revealed Beechen was the only one pitching stories on Cass (which was a half-lie, if you've seen my "Lost Tales of Cass" post, you know Chuck Dixon had a fill-in issue of Detective Comics ready to go telling how Cass/Bruce mended).

Course, by this time period Dixon was exiting Robin and Batman & the Outsiders so, yeah it was a "half-truth".

That made me angry back then, but now I see the why, and I'm okay with it. In his original ways of writing Cass, Beechen's attempts were-- not good. This was his chance to show readers he had really looked into the character's history and fix these issues that he himself put in.

Think about it we came from this in Robin #152:

To this. Beechen calling out the grand problem within the Bat-books (even now it seems). Cass is important in the Bat-Family, SO TREAT HER AS SUCH. Which he does by having Alfred (of course) pointing these things out.

But Alfred isn't the only one being meta in this story. I didn't even realize it, until 2020, but there is one other character playing a meta part in this comic, Nightwing.

If there's one HUGE gripe with this particular volume it is the relationship of Cass/Dick in it. We went to them being brother/sister.. to well. We have Dick literally acting like a dick to her.

Then it hit me.

Who was writing Nightwing at the time period? Peter Tomasi. Who treated the character of Cassandra like what Alfred says? Then suddenly Dick's characterization here began making sense much more sense (when you have this going right after this series as if that writer was flipping off Beechen) in Tomasi's final page of Nightwing:

Cass was supposedly living in the Manor at this time (per this story). Funny how she was "forgotten" in Nightwing. I guess Tomasi was REALLY spiteful because he revisited this subplot during the New 52 Batman & Robin too with Bruce even twisting the knife further:

Though for Beechen's purposes he revisits on WHY Cassandra should be a key member of the Bat-Family. Not only that, but Cass goes thru a journey that explores the limits of the Bat-Family's underlying culture of vengeance. And she reaches a natural conclusion to this (more on that later).

So let's get to the real bad. No not the 90s designed goons of David Cain or Deathstroke. No not the David Cain characterization. I'm talking about #1's wall of text that would make even Brian Michael Bendis blush.

This is only one page of it in the issue. We got TWO.

Until this issue, we never really got a "defined" timeline of Cass's EVIL period. We just figured OYL, Supergirl #14, Robin #161-162, and Titans East was how it happened. Turns out we were WRONG. Did we really need to see these pages of text? Not really.

In all honesty, I think a simpler solution would have been just tiny panels of Cass seeing the various people she killed when drugged up. At the very least, it would put faces on those Cass was forced to do. You could feel her rage on why she's hunting Slade/David Cain then.

Plus it feels like we're missing something as Tim was basically like Dick in Titans East. But now he's changed. Why? There could have been panels of Tim showing care for Cass in this. Instead, he just feels muted throughout this mini.

The first issue ends with Cass confronting another mystery lady murdering some of Slade/David Cain's assassins. And again, a problem I have with this mini.

These "children of Cain" feel so nameless save for Marque, who is the opposite of Cass. She embraces the violence that she was taught and is David Cain's own Frankenstein Monster. Throughout the mini she just comes off as superfluous and edgy. Really edgy...

I really think Beechen missed a prime chance here in having Cass trying to save someone like herself. Someone unlike Cass, didn't realize life as much as she did. That finally, Cain cracked the code (with help from the Slade juice). And Cass could try to redeem her.

So this whole theme of redemption could be all over the place then. Marque throughout this just feels, meh. Speaking of meh say hello to meaningless male love interest #3 for Cass.

This subplot just feels pretty meh. I get the why Beechen tried it. The writer from Batman: City of Light attempted this. Dylan Horrocks with Black Wind during his run on Vol. 1, and Andersen Gabrych attempted this in his run with Zero (and let's face it we only remember his name because he died).

The whole love subplot just feels so unnecessary here. Again we could have more stuff with Tim helping her. Something. Instead, we get someone we care little about. Because A.) we've seen it before and are so over it.

B.) Compare it with Shadow of the Batgirl which did this right. It balanced everything by showing Cass being the focus here (you know the actual main character), and less on the intended male love interest (until later when she gets to know him, Erik, more as the reader does too)

Which leads to this positive in #2. In one page we are given Babs realizing what Cass has been up too and is all for her going on this quest (probably knowing where this will end). Which is again, a good contrast to where Babs and Cass are here. Babs knows Cass needs this.

Bruce doesn't. Dick SOOOOO doesn't. But Babs fully understands. And I do love me some Babs being a good mentor.

Another positive in this issue does is laying the groundwork on how David Cain/Deathstroke forged this partnership when Cass/Marque visit a former colleague of both men.

That these two knowing one another was hinted at in Batgirl Vol. 1 by Kelley Puckett himself when Cain told Bruce in #5 of a job that was beneath him, Slade, and Lawton's talents. So in that regard, that's a nice callback.

Speaking of callbacks, you can't have Cass hunting Slade and not have run into Ravager (who was also actively hunting her father too during this time period of DC). And here the two's interaction is hit or miss.

Rose equally has a grudge against Slade for pulling the same stuff that he did to Cass. So they can easily relate to the other. Also, you have a built-in Rose going to more extremes than Cass (thanks to Sean McKeever's underrated Teen Titans run character arc involving her).

This is why Marque again comes off as the third wheel in all of this. If you're reading DC Comics at the time (or even now). You want the Cass/Rose interactions here. You don't care about the gritty edgy third person who's ruining the antics between the other two.

Like literally, the tension between Cass/Rose should be all that you need. There's history between them both. There are similar goals each wants. But it comes off as meh throughout this due to Marque. I mean look at this panel below and tell me who sticks out as the sore thumb?

Cause then you have panel later on in the book that makes you want to fist pump with these two now that are Marqueless. Who doesn't want to read THAT?!

Look, the idea of Marque is intriguing but there should have been a clear subject spawned from Deathstroke/David Cain's alliance. An assassin. A roadblock. A hurdle. Not nameless ninja assassins with badly designed outfits.

If this was just Marque fighting Rose/Cass then at least the fight could have meant more meaning. A face to go along with someone who's being down there as Rose/Cass got away from their murderdads.

Because there's no weight to any of these fights which should have more impact. Instead, they come off as weightless. And more blood spilled by Marque because the EDGE MUST FLOW!

But if #3 has another problem is Dick really being a bastard. Seriously, WHAT THE HELL DICK?! But then again, I get it now on why Dick is acting as such. Just that this bad characterization does come at the expense of Nightwing. Like WOW.

So here I am bashing the heck out of this third issue, with very little good finding in it. Well, there is one other additional good. That's the opening page/panel when Cass is out (due to Rose from last issue).

Where does this love of Cass/Shiva together come from? This comic! Beechen of all writers laid the seed that Bryan Edward Hill in Batman & the Outsiders and Michael Conrad & Becky Cloonan on Batgirls would use. The hidden desire Cass has: she wants Shiva to be a mother to her. Yes, Barbara is a good mother too (and dammit where is she in this panel above?!)

Regardless, Beechen does understand a want Cass has that James Tynion opened (and failed at) while Hill fleshed out WAAAAAAY more. So much more that now this has to be the standard of their relationship now. Literally, this is just gold between the two of them now.

But if you want to know where this hunger for Cass/Shiva to have an actual daughter/mother relationship came? You can thank Adam Beechen for that!

#4 finally has the long-awaited fight between Cass and Slade with it well being quite lackluster thanks in due part to Marque and the nameless daughters of Cain.

But I do confess there are a few dialogue pieces in #4 I do enjoy. Like Slade twisting the mental knife to get the better of Cass here.

We get no cathartic scenes for either Rose or Cass here (everyone seems to get robbed of having them with Slade at this time period in DC). Just a rushed end to a rushed subplot.

Again, this could have been the point where Cass was reaching to Marque and that could have been the point for Slade to decide, "WHELP TIME TO EXPLODE AND RUN!" Setting up the next issue. Instead, these nameless kids all die and we the reader feel nothing for them.

When in fact we should feel more. But so it is comics and we get the abrupt ending of the Cass/Rose union. Because this is all we get of Slade and her after this issue. Which is a pity.

Again given how both have similarities with horrible fathers. There should be much pathos here between Cass/Rose. How Cass sees going down this path of vengeance can poison you still (as it is doing to Rose). With Marque being.. ugh.

If that wasn't enough we get again nameless male love interest and ugh. Yeah, I'm just not gonna post more of that. Other than Cass realizes just who Slade and her pop would target to announce their alliance but also hurt the heroes: Oracle.

Which makes complete sense. I just wish the comic did a better job with it like Bruce Wayne: Murderer did only now David Cain this time going after Barbara (as he went after Bruce in that event story). There's a lot of things this comic could have done better at.

#5 opens with Dick, Bruce, and Tim fighting Cass due to the former ratting out her plans to kill David Cain to the latter two. Still, it is kind of cathartic Dick getting punted.

...

I hate myself for enjoying that.

If you're expecting any sort of closure between Dick/Cass here you aren't going to get any in this series. Dick continues to be a dick to Cassandra in Frank Tieri's fill-in arc of Batman & the Outsiders #13-14. After that, Dick FINALLY stops acting so OOC.

Here we go back into the positives of this series. I do enjoy Cass scoping the eventual scene of the crime out. She looks at the evidence she's got and with her skills predicts how and where her father will try to take the shot at Babs.

These pages come to show that Cass indeed can be a fine detective on her own right (thanks to Babs, Bruce, and Tim teaching her). Knowing how and when the crime could occur before it even does with what she knows.

And so we get probably the second-best part of this series. These next two pages.

I mean it's not Damion Scott, but Calafiore does have the nice little details here and there. Also nice of Beechen to use TWO homages of Cass here. From this set-up shot from Vol. 1 from above too…

To Cain about to strike a Gordon down and once again, his daughter stops him from taking the killshot. There's a bit of poetry there.

So in some callbacks, the creative team does nail them. I have to confess other than Marque, #5 is probably the portion of the story where it actually gets good. Even if it does come at the small price of David Cain's characterization.

Look, yes David Cain is a monster, but there's a difference between monsters who aren't portrayed as human and the ones who are. Cain had a perfect balance of this in Vol. 1 The stuff in this volume (and until again Shadow of the Batgirl) David just is a complete monster.

In that regard, the pathos of the villain just feels more hollow. If save Slade talked to him while in prison. Told him he could perfect and deliver that perfect child soldier. Bring a reason for his life again. I'd buy that more than what we got here in Vol. 2.

Why going into the final issue why I go into that mindset. It helps the reasons flow better for the character then what we actually got. And the ultimate fight between the two is handled well.

I also love that both Babs/Bruce are doing crowd control here (both at this point knowing this is something Cass NEEDS). I love that Charlie sees what is going on and her first instinct is to help Cass.

It's a pity we never got more interactions between Charlie/Cass. If only there were some subplots that could have been dropped so we could have got that.

While we don't get the cathartic stuff with Slade we do get it with Cass going up against her father. Just unloading the life he never gave her with a fury.

It's an almost Return of the Jedi moment of Vader/Luke's final duel with Cass just unleashing it all on her own father who cannot defend himself against the rage of his child. And much like Vader/Luke there's that moment when the later realized what will happen if he continues.

Like Luke, Cass has that realization too. That if she has her vengeance what will it solve? All this pain. All this suffering that's she has dealt with these last few months. Will killing him solve it? Of course, we know the answer cause it's Cass.

No. Being a killer is not who she is. She is a hero. So she attempts to save her father, but well as we find out this is where Bruce and Tim were hiding. Waiting and watching to see if Cass would come to this realization.

And we come to the best moment of this comic where Bruce puts his batdad side full-on. I love that the focus is on Cass here. Hearing what Bruce is saying and you just see the raw emotion of her just cracking up wanting this so bad until...

The hug from her true dad with a proud brother looking on. If only you know a stupid tie-in didn't have to ruin the good moment making any readers go, "What the hell is R.I.P.?!"

Like seriously, I'm surprised no one has photoshopped that R.I.P. out of the panel. If you take it out. Damn does this work more. But by putting it in there. "Oh yeah, Bruce is about to die. ...." And that emotion just leaves you to do this.

So if any of you great Photoshoppers out there can take that R.I.P. out? That'd be just great.

So Batgirl vol. 2 looking under this lens isn't the worst Cass story, nor does have enough good to be amazing to recommend. It's just there with both good and bad. It's average.

Hence it is Schrödinger's Cass. It is exactly this. But it was worth talking about. Because it is a period of Cass that should be talked of more. Because it does redeem Adam Beechen with the character.

Along with redeeming Cass with the Bat-Family. It's just a pity only Frank Tieri decided to follow on this and NO OTHER WRITER. Sadly not soon after we'd be getting the teases that Babs would be back as Batgirl from the Blackest Night mini caps at the end of BoP and Nightwing.

For certain folk at DC already made up their mind with the character, and she wouldn't be Batgirl or apart of the Bat-Family that much longer. I guess they assumed this Volume would be considered a "gift". That Cass got closure... Ugh.

If you want to know more about DC meddling. Then see here when I go more into detail on that.

That said, Batgirl Vol. 2 gets a lot of bad rap, but it isn't all bad. It's highly flawed, but there is some good in it. … And here's me going all RoTJ fully with it. 😋

With that, I'm gonna call it a night. Because tomorrow there are things I hope for tomorrow. REALLY AMAZING THINGS for us Cass fans tomorrow at long last.

But not freaking Batman/Catwoman: Gotham War. That can go to hell...

#cassandra cain #dc comics #my thoughts

[telleroftime]

I'm tired so here's some Treasure Planet x Reader longfic ideas before I take a nap. All are post-canon by the way:

Silver x Reader where Silver looks back on his life and tries to do something new with it. He no longer has a treasure planet to find and the only thing he's good at outside of pirating is cooking. So, he starts working at Reader's inn/restaurant. They're the only person that will take him in, though if that's because they're kind or desperate he does not know.

Silver x Reader where Silver, inspired by Jim, decides to try and settle down. A retirement sort of deal. He ends up finding a comfortable enough place on a fairly popular planet. The countryside would do him well though he yearns to sail again. The first time he meets Reader, the local blacksmith, is when he needs to get his arm fixed up. They are patient with him and confident enough to comment back their own offhand flirts. Slowly but surely, Silver gets comfortable and Reader is happy that such an exciting ex-pirate settled down in their town.

Silver x Reader where Reader is a teacher. The school they work at just so happens to hire a new cook, who just so happens to be a retired pirate. The two don't interact at first, but after Reader organises a story time for the children and Silver tells one of his own, Reader becomes completely enamoured. The two get along well as Reader helps out in the kitchens in their free time, if only to hear more of his stories.

Silver x Reader where Reader is a scholar. Though they weren't too keen on the cyborg suddenly working at their place of research - be that as a cook or some other not-so-scholarly job - they end up growing fond of the alien. They enjoy his charisma. Eventually, they even offer to sponsor him despite what their colleagues have to say about it. Silver has great stories and Reader knows that. It would be wasted potential otherwise, and the two bond over that.

Of course, because of his pirate background, Reader would have to teach him how to read and write. Well, at least better than the bare minimum. And who's to say no to cute study dates?

Silver x Reader where Reader owns a pub on one of the Etherium's more dangerous space stations. A space station that is known for how many pirates and corrupt politicians it harbours. With Silver's lacklustre lineup of previous jobs, he's lucky that Reader needed a bouncer. Looking at them, he assumed they were someone that would be easy to take advantage of - not that he would - but it turns out the saying it true: don't mess with the barkeep.

Scroop x Reader where Reader is the boss of a gambling den at one of the more notorious pirate strongholds. They just so happened to be in need of a bodyguard to keep the loud clientele in order, and who better to fill the role than someone who begrudgingly admitted to be part of Silver's crew. Well, at least before he was found floating in space that is.

He'd pretty much be 'scary dog privilege' incarnate, though that's not to say that the Reader would be weak. Someone has to keep him in his place, although someone also needs to keep him out of trouble.

Scroop x Reader where Reader is a farmer. They were just about to scare away the Etherium's whales that were floating too close to the small planet's atmosphere when they encountered the arachnid-like alien, unconscious and too cold to the touch. They take him back down and nurse him back to health. Scroop, now stranded with no real life to get back to, helps Reader on the farm. Though he isn't too keen on it.

Scroop could end up learning to relax a little. There is no one he need to perform to anymore. It's just him and Reader, and if he needs alone time with his own thoughts then that's okay too.

Scroop x Reader where Reader and their tribe find Scroop floating in space. He's not too keen on having woken up on a tropical-like planet, let alone in a place where he doesn't understand anyone. He's aggressive and the elders debate whether to just get rid of him. Reader, naturally, decides to keep him around. It takes a while to break through the language barrier, but eventually the relationships better. Scroop shows Reader how to uses a cutlass, Reader shows Scroop how to forage the planet's resources, and the two bond over that.

Scroop x Reader where Reader is a surgeon on a pirate ship. After Scroop's been floating in space he is lucky enough to be picked up by a different band of pirates. He's back to being his mean self, instantly being seen as an outcast that is only kept on board because of his good spacer skills. However, compared to what he was accustomed to when part of Silver's crew, he now has a Reader to deal with. Someone who isn't too happy about being disrespected.

Both would end up growing in the end. Reader, who previously had little skills in terms of ship duties, ends up being taught by Scroop. Well, less teaching and more following him around as if he had a choice. Scroop on the other hand would learn how to take care of others and of himself.

I haven't read this back yet so sorry if there's any errors.

#scroop x reader #john silver x reader #treasure planet #mr scroop #john silver #toonce ideas #if anyone wants to use this as inpso then feel free to #i'm not too fussed about credit and stuff like that #though if y'all write anything send me it please - i'm starving for treasure planet x Reader content #and i'm too lazy to write my own

[theographos]

They all became what everyone said they couldn't be. All except Toby that is...

Once again i'm sharing my Trollhunter propaganda onto my loved ones, and by that I mean trapping them in the same room as me and forcing them to watch the show. (with consent) And this time, it's my bestie who has to go through that. And as I rewatch the show, I think about what I see and compare it to the rest of the franchise.

Jim, despite everyone and himself telling him he couldn't, became the Trollhunter in his very own way.

Claire, despite Morgana saying otherwise, became the new owner of the Shadowstaff in her very own way.

Blinky, despite Vendell and overall the whole Troll market telling him otherwise, became the mentor of a brilliant Trollhunter in his very own way.

AAARRRGGHH!!!, despite the Gumms Gumms and Queen Ursuna saying otherwise, became a fighter for the right cause and left his role as Gunmar's spawn for good. Or in other words, he learned how to be a fighter in his very own way

Toby, despite the plot telling him otherwise, became a hero fitting the common standards of heroism in medias and a hero fitting the Tales of Arcadia's standards.

But wait... Toby's character development doesn't really make sense with the rest of the main characters now, does it ?

No it has nothing to do with the fact that Toby is a "fleshbag"

So I already discussed on how the screenwriters could have given a more interesting role for Toby in another post, but I didn't deeply explained why in terms of storytelling.

First and foremost, no I do not think that Tobias would have been better if he wasn't a human, this post is more because I believe that Aliens and Toby lack "plot important" features (except for the movie) (waiting a whole franchise to give that kind of feature to a character or an important specie in your story isn't something we should acclaim). So I thought of ways to kill one bird with two stone, and give plot-interesting features to both the race and the character. Plus I think it's more interesting to think of solutions that fits the already established universe, and then think of solutions that fits my way of writing stories.

Second of all, yes the human bestfriend of a character can be wonderfully done, like in Teen Wolf for example. From the start we meet Scott McCall, the main character, and his bestfriend Stiles Stilinski. Throughout the whole show they are exposed to supernatural phenomenon, the entirety of the cast becomes linked to the supernatural world either by being hunters or by being a supernatural being. Everyone except Stiles.

And despite being human and a comic relief character, he is relevant to the plot. He is the "detective" of the group, he is always the one noticing strange things and finding a solution to the current threat they're dealing with. He is also incredibly funny, voluntarily or not, and the screenwriters take their sweet times showing how hard the plot is taking a toll on the characters through Stiles. Which means we see him having panic attacks, doubts, nightmares, etc.

And guess what ? He is the fan's favorite character ! In the last season, when Stiles's actor couldn't be more present due to an injury, it showed. You could feel the lack of Stiles in most the scenes, and the bestest parts were the scenes in which he appeared, also because they came up with an excuse to explain why Stiles isn't as much present as before.

But that excuse is so well done that when you see Stiles again, you're not only relieved to see him well, but also very interested because suddenly the plot drives forward so quickly. If you take away Stiles, the plot isn't going anywhere (because he was the one investigating most of the supernatural threats), and even the serie isn't that interesting anymore : it's less funny, less human and even.

Heck, the plot wouldn't even exist without Stiles ! In the beginning of the show Stiles takes the main character in the woods because they're looking for a dead body (dumb teenager idea)(his dad is the sheriff so it's not that weird). And in those woods, the main character ends up lost, gets bitten by a werewolf and the story starts.

So yes, a human bestfriend can be interesting in the story in an emotional point of view, he can be relevant to the plot and have an interesting dynamic within the main group.

Dreamworks isn't good with "bestfriend" characters

Trollhunters is in many ways similar to How to Train your Dragon. While Hiccup is trying to protect dragons following his own morals even if they differs from the rest of his village, Jim is trying to protect trolls following his own morals even if differs with the rules of Trollhunting. Of course both franchise have their own identity, and not everything is similar to the other. But they do share the fact that they're both animated by Dreamworks.

Yet I see one major problem that the HTTYD franchise had who's also present in ToA : The bestfriend character has nothing more than a "helping hand" kind of role. Astrid is interesting and has plot relevance, just like Claire, but they're more the love interest kind of person. Stoik, Valka and sometimes Gobber have plot relevance as Hiccup's parent figures and/or mentor, kind of like Blinky, Strickler and Barbara. I think I could compare AAARRRGGHH!!! with the dragons in some way. He has a link with the main bad guys of the show, just like the dragons (dragons and dragon hunters) he has that loveable side like the dragons and big fighting skills like them. (I'm not saying that AAARRRGGHH!!! is similar to an animal, i'm saying that his role plot-wise is similar in some ways to the role of the dragons in HTTYD)

But when we take a look at Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Fishlegs, even if they have distinctive character traits from one another and some sort of character development in some episodes of the shows, in terms of plot their role are basically "well the main character cannot do everything on his own, plus we need humor". Some episodes are based around them, just like for Toby, but no villains are directly linked to them, no plot points are directly linked to them. They're only in the plot because they are the friends of the one who's relevant to the story, whether it's the dragons, Hiccup or the rest of the Trollhunter team.

Toby, just like Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Fishlegs is a supporting character. Yes he has helped a lot but more because they needed a third hand more than because they needed his specific competences. And no Warhammer isn't what I can call a competence, since Jim's status as a trollhunter works with and without his weapon, and Claire's shadow magic has been awaken by the shadowstaff and even when it ends up being broken into pieces, she is still relevant without her weapon.

Warhammer was something that Toby wanted a lot, couldn't use, so they put a curse on it to kill two bird with one stone. The biggest competence that he had so far in Trollhunter was his dental problems. Without that, they wouldn't have meet Gladys the changeling or they wouldn't have found the Janus order. Because the rest of the time it's just luck. Luck isn't a competence, it's literally just luck.

In terms of a fighting team, Toby doesn't have a distinctive role.

Jim is the front fighter. He is the one that is going to go straight to the enemy.

Claire is the mage, even if she knows how to fight, her main feature in combat scenes is her magic.

AAARRRGGHH!!! is a tank. He is strong and big, and is able to take on bigger enemies and take a lot of damage upon him.

Blinky is a councellor, he might not be the best at fighting but he will be able to come up with a strategy based off his knowledge as an historian, and also serve as some sort of therapist and moral compass, giving back faith and the will to fight to his comrades.

I have a hard time understanding Toby's role is this team (combat-wise) other than "the helping hand". The moral compass is already occupied by Blinky, he is hardly a tank since AAARRRGGHH!!! can take upon the offensive and defensive aspects of that role. He cannot be the "troll-nerd" one who knows everything about troll culture since Claire and Blinky already take upon that role. The best I could come up with is either the one who deals with humans, even if when it happens it's always more or less accidental and he is not comfortable in those situations (or not good, like when they had to exchange the formula with Vendell's staff), or again a helping hand, a sort of plus one in case there are a lot of ennemies or everyone else has a task and that problem must be taken care of right now.

That's why I proposed that he could be a healer. Not a very good one, since that would just make the team invicible (most of the times their difficulty comes from injuries or being tired, if you have a character that can fully help those problems there is not a lot of hardships).

Truthfully I have a hard time thinking of an actual role he could have within the team. Because being the "plus one" is already the role of the Creepslayerz.

It has to fit with the serie's message

Like I said in the introduction a recurring theme for the main characters is that people around them do not believe they are fit to become what they're supposed to be or what they want to be. A some sort "against all odds they managed to become [insert role]" if you'd like.

As I have established before Tobias is more of a "helping hand" kind of role, and no one has ever kept Toby from being a helping hand other than him. (Meanwhile every other main characters in Trollhunters doubt themselves because of everyone telling them to do so.)

The only thing he has been kept from doing by other characters (especially the villain) is to be the hero. He is only a human with nothing else, he can help but he can't make a difference on his own. But if we continue to follow the story's theme, he would need to become a hero in his very own way. To claim that title and to use it in a way that is most definetly his, whether with his own competence or his own moral compass.

Toby doesn't have that, since he became trollhunter after Jim, after Jim proved that humans can be trollhunters. He would only be repeating Jim's story with some differences, but the struggles would be the exact same. Meanwhile Claire is having her very own difficulty because she has her very own role as a hero. Her struggles are similar, but not completely the same.

See, when I talked about alien!toby it was because it was easy to tell yourself that aliens might not recognize Toby as one of their own, which could create some sort of "you want to be like us but you'll never be, you're just a human/too bad at it". It's also easy to imagine Toby having trouble with that part of him, either physically or mentally. After all he always thought he was a human, learning that you're part alien is a whole pre-written identity crisis.

And yes even his sacrifice at the end of RotT doesn't really fit the story's themes. Yes Toby saved the world in his own way, but what I don't like about it is the fact that he is considered a hero because he sacrificed himself.

He is not a hero because of who he is, he is a hero because of what he has lost. This is a one time kind of heroism, because as you might guess you do not come back from the dead every so often. I am not saying that he shouldn't have sacrificed himself, i'm saying that every main character became a hero before trying to sacrifice themselves. You saw a big part of their competences before that, but like I said Toby doesn't have particular competences in the show.

It still fits the theme "don't think, become" of the show, but if we look on the plot from afar it means that Jim had to fight to become a hero, Claire had to fight to become a hero, same for AAARRRGGHH!!!, Blinky had to lead to become a hero and Toby had to die.

This is quite a horrible thought don't you think ? That the only way for one of the main character to be fully recognized as a hero in the plot is to die. It worked in some shows, especially for morally grey characters, but throughout this whole post I showed you how Toby had nothing meaningful given to him, and the only thing he always had was ripped from him.

This is not something carefully planned, it's just that they did not cared.

Nothing in the whole franchise justify the tragedy that is Tobias's character arc. Changelings became heroes, Gumm gumms can be heroes, humans too, except for Toby.

Toby is left with crumbs. No magical ancient weapon, just a warhammer that doesn't even have a story worth mentionning in the show. No cool and original duty, just the one that his bestfriend had and who decided to give it to him to make him happy. A big act of heroism, that only Jim will ever remember because this happened in another timeline.

His role as trollhunter, his warhammer, his role as "protector of arcadia" at the end of Trollhunters, even his dynamic in the group is merely a pat on the head in hopes that it will make him shut up and comply. And while some characters are beautiful tragedies, Tobias is not an intentional one. If it was one, you would have seen it coming. If it truly was meant to be a tragedy, the writers would have dropped signs, they would have portrayed it in a particular way.

Even if they lacked time in the later seasons of Trollhunters and Wizards, they had time in 3Below. They had 2 seasons to give anything to Toby, whether tragical or magical.

But they didn't, so nothing shows that they intentionally did it. I even think that they did realize what they had done at some point, and their only way to arrange things was to make him die so that he could finally be a hero.

A hero that only one character will ever remember in the show, because they couldn't even give him that glory, it had to be reaped away from him in one way or another. Because at the end of RotT, in terms of timeline, it never happened, or at least it didn't happen yet.

In conclusion to all of that, I will repeat what I have said a thousand times in this post : Toby wasn't done justice with this movie. He didn't have the ending he deserved, and his story arc in my opinion isn't really a story arc. It's more like him complying and shutting up about his situation because he was given something that looks shiny, but holds no real importance nor deep meaning (or some twisted meaning).

The writers did not want to include Toby in the plot for most of the franchise, and when they did it was in the only way they knew of : something that looks shiny and cool but is in reality just a way to shut everyone up and move on.

#Not so much of a fun ending for that one #Trying to fix things doesn't erase those said things #if you want a human character in a fantastic story #3below tales of arcadia #tales of arcadia wizards #wizards tales of arcadia #trollhunters tales of arcadia #tales of arcadia #rise of the titans critical #tales of arcadia : rise of the titans #rise of the titans tales of arcadia #tales of arcadia rise of the titans #rise of the titans #toby domzalski #toby domzalski critical #tales of arcadia critical

[strangerthingsreversebigbang]

In case you missed them, here are the next ten works posted from the Stranger Things Reverse Big Bang!

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If I Could Turn Back Time by @stevesbipanic | Art by @maikaartwork

Rating: Teens and Up

Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply

Character(s): Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Eleven | Jane Hopper, Robin Buckley, Dustin Henderson, Wayne Munson, The Party

Relationship(s): Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson

Summary:

"Hide somewhere, somewhere you felt safe."

After the battle the party realises their fallen friend isn't so fallen after all, just a lot smaller.

Eddie likes these new people, especially the boy with the fluffy hair and a nice smile.

Together can they return Eddie to his original body and work through their pasts?

Here You Come Again by @cranberrymoons | Art by @glitterfang

Rating: Explicit

Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply

Character(s): Steve Harrington, Tommy Hagan, Robin Buckley, Robin Buckley's Parents, Dustin Henderson, Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair

Relationship(s): Steve Harrington/Tommy Hagan

Summary:

Vaguely, over the sound of a bland pop song playing in the background, he hears the squeak of a pair of sneakers come to a halt at the other end of the aisle. He turns his head toward the sound… and promptly fumbles the tube of Pringles he’d been reaching for. He bats at it with his hand in a futile attempt at catching it, instead knocking it further toward the ground like a spiked volleyball.

He clears his throat.

“Um.” The tube rolls across the linoleum and comes to a stop at Tommy Hagan’s feet. Steve stares at it for a long, agonizing beat of silence, then he looks back up at Tommy’s face. “Sorry.”

Tommy raises his eyebrows, and Steve’s heart kicks in his chest.

Steve and Tommy haven't talked in nearly three years. After everything, maybe the best way forward is back.

Sneaking a Peak by @medusapelagia | Art (x, x) by @imfinereallyy

Rating: Explicit

Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply

Character(s): Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington's Mother, Eddie Munson, Corroded Coffin (Stranger Things), Chrissy Cunningham, Robin Buckley

Relationship(s): Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington

Summary:

Steve Harrington's face has always been on the most well-known magazines' cover, but since he broke up with the famous actress Nancy Wheeler he has done his best to avoid the public eye. Or so he thinks... until a picture of him kissing a mysterious boy becomes viral.

---

“Steven, stop it, ok? I don’t have time to waste. I called to find out the name of the boy you were kissing last night.” His mom says, annoyed. Steve turns toward the mirror and finally sees what caught his attention before: on the lower side of his neck, barely hidden from his t-shirt, there is a big blue hickey. Fuck! “How… how do you know?” “You were at the New York Fashion Week afterparty, right? Well, you know how people are. They love to take pictures and share them on their socials, don’t they? And guess what? No one cares about the stupid boys that were drinking some fancy cocktail they don’t even know how to pronounce, but you were in their picture. You, and a black-haired boy, and either one of you was in need of some CPR or the two of you were kissing. Hard.”

What a Lucky Man He Was by @nnocres | Art by @artgroves

Rating: Explicit

Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply

Character(s): Joyce Byers, Jim Hopper, Scott Clarke, Lonnie Byers (mentioned)

Relationship(s): Joyce Byers/Jim Hopper, Scott Clarke/Jim Hopper, Joyce Byers & Jim Hopper

Summary: When Lonnie leaves Joyce hanging for a ride at their senior prom, Jim is there to help.

Overnight Sensation by @ilovecupcakesandtea | Art by @pink-luna-moth

Rating: Explicit

Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply

Character(s): Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley, Chrissy Cunningham

Relationship(s): Steve Harrington / Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley / Chrissy Cunningham

Summary: Two different styles of music, two boys that really don't like each other. What could possibly go wrong?

More Than it at First Appears by @it-gets-worse-at-night | Art by @hereforanepilogue

Rating: Mature

Warning(s): Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Character(s): Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley, Eddie Munson, Dustin Henderson, Lucas Sinclair, Erica Sinclair, Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Wayne Munson, Other(s)

Relationship(s): Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington & The Party

Summary:

Soulmates weren’t something that a lot of people put much faith in anymore. As a kid, everyone is excited to meet their soulmate, they grow up watching movies about finding your soulmate, but the older most people get, the more they realize that the system just isn’t perfect. People meet too young, or too late, or not at all. Sometimes the matches just don’t seem right. Steve, for his part, wanted to believe in soulmates. He wanted so badly to believe, but his parents were soulmates and their marriage was a sham. They didn’t love each other. In fact, most days, they honest to God hated one another. His father was a chronic cheater and his mother followed him around in an effort to salvage her dreams of a perfect marriage. In Steve’s opinion, if it hadn’t managed to work itself out in the 20 years that they’d been married, it probably wasn’t going to. So, as much as Steve wanted to believe in them, he hadn’t tethered himself to the idea of eventually meeting his own soulmate. He’d dated plenty, fucked around, flirted. He’d even fallen in love, though that relationship had blown up in his face. This simple fact though, made the orange blooming over Robin’s neck that much more surprising.

Second Chances Mixtape by @medusapelagia | Art (x, x) by @maikaartwork

Rating: Mature

Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply

Character(s): Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley, Dustin Henderson, The Party (Stranger Things), Nancy Wheeler, Argyle (Stranger Things), Jonathan Byers, Henry Creel | One | Vecna, Original Characters, Wayne Munson, Mike Wheeler, Will Byers, Eleven | Jane Hopper, Terry Ives, Martin Brenner, Becky Ives, Scott Clarke

Relationship(s):Steve Harrington & Eddie Munson, Eddie Munson & Wayne Munson, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson

Summary:

It's 1986 and the plan to kill Vecna was a disaster: Vecna escaped, Hawkins was devasted by an earthquake and Eddie Munson is dead. Or so they presume.

---

“The cassette player broke.” Lucas whispers after hours of silence. “I couldn’t… I couldn’t help her. I was right there, but I couldn’t help her.” Steve holds him tighter, he has no words of comfort for him and he knows exactly how he feels. How hard is he judging himself, how he is playing the entire movie of the night in his head trying to find the point in time where he could have fixed everything. Steve knows all of that because he and Lucas are so similar and he is doing the very same thing, thinking about Eddie. Only…. Only Steve has another thought that doesn’t let him breathe: did he really hate him? Steve can’t deny that he was jealous of Dustin’s new cool friend but… did he let them risk their lives because he was jealous?

Made of Brick & Stone | Built On Laughter by @maxinemaxmayfield | Art by @doomcheese

Rating: General

Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply

Character(s): Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson

Relationship(s): Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson

Summary:

It all starts with a raccoon. Well, that depends where you want to start from, really. But this particular part of their life, this starts with a raccoon.

In which Steve and Eddie rescue critters, renovate a farm, and love each other through it all.

Let's Bring This Idiot Home by @ilovecupcakesandtea | Art by @kokoshka67

Rating: Mature

Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply

Character(s): Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley

Pairing(s): Steve Harrington / Eddie Munson

Summary: Eddie's dead, or is he? What happens when a dead friend isn't actually as dead as everyone thought they were.

(Don't) Hold Your Breath by @ukulilyjane | Art by @glitterfang

Rating: Explicit

Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply

Character(s): Carol Perkins, Nancy Wheeler, Barb Holland

Pairing(s): Steve Harrington/Tommy Hagan

Summary:

When Steve opens the door, on the doorstep stands Tommy, chewing on the inside of his cheek, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his shorts, backlit by the orange glow of the early evening sun.

Tommy who Steve hasn’t properly spoken to in almost half a year.

Just Tommy. No ‘and Carol’. No other half.

---

Stay tuned for more incredible works from the Stranger Things Reverse Big Bang!

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#stranger things #stranger things reverse big bang #strbb #posting round up #steddie #stommy #jopper #jim hopper x scott clarke

[noodlefluid]

I HAVE A RISE X READER ASKKK post krang invasion. donnie and reader are hanging out in his lab. donnie is upset bc he misses his old lab and the tech he had, now he has to build everything from scratch again. reader is chilling on one of donnies many spinny chairs and gets curious abt how his life was before the krang invaded, reader starts asking questions abt his lab and life n stuff.

he tells them how cool his lab was and the adventures they had and how they fought villians, then donnie brings up jupiter jim and the reader is like “what’s that??” and from then on, donnie is scavenging the base, looking for the comics (maybe the comics can be in leos room and they have a lil argument bc leo wants to know why donnie needs his comics and donnies ashamed to admit he wanted to get them so he can read them to reader) after donnie retrieves the comics he shows them to the reader and the two of them chill w each other, reading all of the jupiter jim comics

Never the same | Donnie×Reader

▪︎Sumary

Donnie gets nostalgic about his past life and start talking about it. After you ask him about one of his favorite super heroes, Donnie decides he have to show it to you no matter what.

❥Type: Fanfic

 ❥Characters: Donnie Leo Reader

 ❥Reader's pronouns: no mention

 ❥Relationship: Crush (implied)

 ❥Autor notes: Hi, sorry for the delay. This is my first request and therefore I wanted it to be the first one I published,I think this ended up being more focused on donnie and leo, but I hope you still like it . Also, please remember this is my first time writing and that english isn't my first language, any mistake either in writing style, grammar or just any suggestion in general is welcome, but please be kind :)

Warning: probably ooc leo and donnie, Angst, verbal argument, y/n is bland as hell lol, minor swearing

Word count:3225

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ »◦✿◦« ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

“ugh…” Donnie was looking at one of his latest invention, it didn't go as planned and it was starting to annoy him, this was already fifteenth try and it was going nowhere 

You were sitting in a chair beside him, spinning to beat the boredom and just trying to disconnect with the world for a moment, but as soon as you heard the sigh leave the purple turtle’s lips you stop what you were doing “What's wrong?”

“Nothing, it’s just…this stupid thing doesn’t work” you could see the frustration in his face, he was agitated, he groaned out of frustration “This wouldn’t happened if I just had my old lab”

Curiosity began to flourish from the moment these words were uttered. Even when the four brothers were seen as heroes, no one really knew too much about them, and no one could be bothered to ask either, we were in and out of danger every single day. Still, the atmosphere of this half-built lab make you feel nostalgic, you were starting to miss normal even when you sometimes complained about how boring was your past life, you were missing those exact moment of boring.

You met the brothers once they saved you in one of the many rescues they performed after the krang began to invade New York and finally the whole world. A world of suffering, where humans and yokai struggled together trying to survive the apocalypse. Maybe it was because of the way you encountered them for the first time, but it didn't take you long to get attached to them.. Especially, the purple one, Donatello, he never left the base unless necessary since he was responsible for maintaining the shields, because of that you saw him often. Donnie took his job seriously, always making some sort of gadget  to make missions easier and faster. You spent a lot of time around him, it seemed to bother him at first but now he was more used to your presence. It was probably because of this that you started to feel curious about the past of the turtles that saved your life, and this was just the perfect moment to ask

“How was it?” You asked, looking at the ground due to nervousness

“hmm? what do you mean?” The mutant looked away from his work to pay attention to you

“your lab, how was it?"

Donnie's face immediately light up “Oh my dear y/n, it was magnificent” He turn his whole body to you, noticeably excited to talk about it “I had so many inventions and material, you would be impress, a-and” The excitement make him trip over his word “Not to brag but the aesthetics were, heh, just marvelous, if I say myself, the purple LEDs and my incredible organization make my lab the best room in our...home” he sigh that last word, leaning back on his chair “I’m sure you would have loved it...I use to spend days in between those walls. I had this drone named S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N, he was sometimes annoying, but he was my pride, almost like a son to me, he was severed damage in a fight, and just when I managed to bring him back… this happened” He looked annoyed but you could feel the sadness on his words, he keep talking. “I just kinda wish this lab could make itself, you know?, now it just messy and doesn’t look scientific enough, my old lab had everything a turtle could wish, it was perfect”

“Well, I think is nice tho” you felt stupid for saying that and gave yourself a mental slap in the face, he didn't need kind words, it was a dumb

“Yeah…it is "nice", but I miss my old one, and…well, I guess my whole life in the lair” He sounded a little down there, looking somewhere between his work and blueprints

“How…how was your life before?" You feel imprudent for a moment, you already make him quite sad, and you were just putting salt on an open wound. Sometimes you hated your curiosity “if…if you don’t mind me asking, I-I understand if you don’t…” your voice reflected a bit of shyness as you spoke faster than usual, it didn't matter if you were friends with the turtle, he still was your superior, and most important,the hero of the apocalipse, you always tried to treat him with respect, but the familiarity was such that you sometimes forgot to put your filter on

Donnie gives you a little smile “It's okay." Of course the turtle was oblivious to your thoughts, he didn't care about ranks between you two "Well…hmm" He started talking "we were just hiding in the sewer, we couldn’t really go out that much. I think It is one of the few things I like about now, we can interact with humans without scaring them away” He looked puzzled, hesitant, probably asking himself what was worth telling “we were…usually fighting again some mutant who was dumb enough to use their power for evilish things, those oozquitoes where quiet the trouble”

You opened your eyes, news were full of strange event about people turning into monster, one of them being the world famous chef Rupert Swaggart, but you actually never pay too much attention to it, since it always ended up solving itself in some strange circumstance, now you knew the true “Wait, it was you? that it's so awesome” Your eyes were sparkling of excitement, just when you thought they couldn’t be cooler "Those incident were everywhere, I actually thought they were just some kind of stuff TV came up with for the audience or something like that, b-but it was you?, it must have been fun, you're amazing Donnie" This just add to the reasons you admired the turtle brothers

Donnie's cheeks burn at the compliment, he try to hide it “Yes, it was fun. Although I preferred it when we were just relaxing in the lair, making fun of the last stupid thing Leo did, playing video games, and when the only fights we had were over who got the last slice of pizza or which Jupiter Jim movie we were going to see first, you know?” He spoke softly, looking down and making a few gesture with his hands here and there while speaking

You looked at him confused. “What's that?” you asked

“What's what?”

“That umm.. Jupiter…Jim?” you were quiet for a few seconds trying to figure out if you had said it correctly, after deciding that you did you start talking again “What it is?”

Donnie looks at you like if you had insulted all his ancestry “Captain Jupiter Jim? you don’t know who captain Jupiter Jim is?!” You started thinking that this had to be really important for one of the Hamato brothers to be this defensive, maybe it has something to do with their training? perhaps a really important figure in the ninja world?. Donatello looked thoughtful you were gonna ask about it but you were interrupted as the soft shell suddenly stood up with a determined look “I need to go” and with that the turtle walked out his lab leaving you even more confused

« • ❁ • »

Donnie went into Leonardo’s room, he was the biggest fan, so it wouldn’t be weird for him to have the comics and maybe the movies that were saved from the lair. He was searching in the bookshelf

“What are you doing?” the sudden sound of a voice make him jump, slamming his back against the shelf and knocking some things over., it was his twin brother

Donnie didn't know whether knowing who the voice was coming from made him panicked more or relieved...he was panicking obviously.  “uh- um…no-nothing?, nothing! not searching for anything here” the soft-shell turtle picked up the thing that fall from the bookshelf while speaking

Leo looked at his brother with obvious oddity “uh…sure” the blue turtle throw his odachi on his bed, he was just arriving from a mission and totally didn’t expect to see his brother trying to steal something, he keep making eye contact with Donnie, he knew how to get responses from him “so?”

“s-so what?” Donnie try to maintain the eye contact

“What ya looking for? Need your big brother's help?” Leo smiled teasingly, it was weird to see Donnie so nervous, and he was gonna tease the hell out of him to get answers

“I just said I wasn’t looking for anything, and for the last time, it is obvious that I’m the older Nardo.”

“uh-huh…yeah, sure” Leo looked unimpressed of both statements

“As I say, I wasn’t looking for anything, since anything that belong to the such of you it’s probably unworthy” Donnie broke the eye contact first, looking at the door, obviously wanting to escape from this situation

Leo saw his intentions and immediately put himself as a barrier between his brother and the door “Well, if my belongings are so unworthy, what were you doing in my chambers?” he made a mocking gesture along with the last word, kinda proud of himself for using book words

“I-I…um” he stuttered trying to find the correct words to leave this situation “You know…I was just doing normal typical brotherly things, just uh…wanting to spend time with my favorite brother” Those last two words had a bitter taste in donnie's mouth. 

Leo couldn’t help but laugh “I’m your favorite brother?” he continued laughing so much that tears started to come out “That was a good one Dee hehe…so what do you want?” The face of the blue turtle turn serious with the last sentence

“I said it was nothing” Donatello hissed annoyed “...but just by chance, have you seen those jupiter jim comics?” He finally admitted,

“Ah ha! you did want something” Leo shouted victorious, just to realize about something not even a second later “Wait…Why do you want my comics?” Leonardo knew his brother, this was suspicious behavior, Donnie was something special when it comes to comics.

“Why do I have to tell you everything? Do you have them or not?” The soft-shell bark his words at his brother, trying to hide his embarrassment, if Leo was to know the reason, he would never hear the end of it

“I do have then, but I'm not giving them to you if you don’t tell me, so start talking” Leonardo insisted, it sounded like a command which make Donnie even more nervous

“I’m not telling you” 

“Then you won’t have the comics”

“But I need them”

“Then talk."

Both twins were known for their stubbornness, they never gave to others, much less to each other.. Their fight could last hours if you let them, and one of their brothers always had to interfere. They stared at each other once again with flaming eyes, trying to intimidate the other

“Why do you want to know?”

“Because" The other replied "I’m talking to the person who cried when he had to open his comic without gloves” 

“I didn’t cry!”

“You did!”

“Ugh! whatever, just give me the comic for einstein sake” Donnie’s fist clenched

“Just tell me why you want them!” Leo demand once more

“I just want to...read them”

"Why can't you just tell me the true?" 

"I JUST DON'T WANT TO" The soft shell shouted, making his twins take a step back, both looking at each other surprised. The purple turtle covered his own mouth, he wasn't expecting to yell

Leo sighed, he didn't wanna fight with his brother for some dumb comics, he has more important thing to worry about, and knowing Donatello, he knew he wouldn't tell a thing if he didn't want to "Fine…no need to yell, I was just teasing" He sighed once again, not dearing to look at his brother

Donatello had a complicated expression. Back in the lair, they would keep screaming at each other until Raphael or Michelangelo made them stop, they would keep teasing at each other, maybe go physic, but at the end of the day they wouldn't even apologize, at least not with words, they would hang out in one of their room or Donnie's lab and have those unspoken conversations they always had. But this wasn't the lair or their past lives, there were just so much that wasn't the same, even when they were still living together, they never see each other, they were starting to feel like strangers, and it make Donatello feel insecure "I-I'm...sorry…I didn't- I" he spoke tripping over his own words. Donnie felt pathetic, starting to fidget with his fingers, his breath a little accelerated, avoiding any eye contact

"Hey, hey, It's okay, don't worry" Leonardo tried to comfort his brother, smiling and making sure the other knew he wasn't angry or anything while searching for something under his bed. A cardboard box "Here..." Leo offer the box to the other mutant

Donatello took a closer look at the box, inside there were not only the Jupiter Jim comics, but also some action figures, posters, among other stuff from the franchise "umm…thanks" both brother were uncomfortable, neither of them were good with "feelings" and "sincere moments"

"Yeah yeah, but next time just ask, don't come to my room to snoop around like a creep, you weirdo." Leonardo teased Donnie, trying to make the atmosphere a little less serious, it was starting to suffocating them both

The comment make the other laugh a little, but he covered his mouth to not give the him a clue "Scoff" he looked away

"Oh, shut up."

Donnie finally had the comics, now it was time to show them to you, were you gonna like them? What if you didn't like them? He went through all those problems, if you didn't like them he would probably cry internally. 

« • ❁ • »

Donnie sends you a message to come to his lab. You were still confused about the events from early on, but maybe he needed you for something important, it wasn't weird to ask you to test his inventions. When you arrived at the turtle's lab, he was on his desk looking at something, but you couldn't see it.

He then noticed you standing on the entrance "Finally!" the mutant spoke, he get up of his seat and walk towards you, taking you by the shoulder and sitting you on omce of the chairs, you then saw the thing he was looking at, there were various comics with Jupiter Jim as the title in it

"What's all this?" You asked 

"This, my dear y/n, is one of the best comic and movie franchises of all. And I just can't be friends with you if you don't know about this" Donnie has bright eyes, you could see how they were sparkling on excitement

"So...It's this the thing you talked about early?" You take on of the comics and give it a quick look at it, all your theories of a great and important ninja figure collapse with one glance, it was just a comic

"First of all, you can't call it "thing", this is a super valuable collection of Jupiter Jim merchandise" He takes the comic off your hands "second, you shall treat it with respect" he sat beside you. You couldn't help but laughed at how serious he was about those comics, it was hard to believe that the great Hamato Donatello, the smartest living being and one of your saviors, could be so excited about sometime so childish, your heart feel all fuzzy and warm inside.

The mutant searched sometimes inside the box, it looked like he was looking for something specific “ah ha! found it” the turtle beamed at the comic book in his hands, after giving it a quick look he gave it to you “here, read this one. It's one of the best to begin with”

You took the comic, staring at the cover. Just like the one before, the pages had the title “Jupiter Jim” in bright yellow, a dark skin man standing heroic, dressed as an astronaut with a little funny looking red fox on his side. You started reading the first page “The colors are so pretty”, it was the first comment you made, colors always had been a focus point for you

Donnie was just staring at you while you kept reading in silence, nodding or adding a few “I know, right” to your occasional comments. The purple turtle started to order the comics, trying to decide which one to give you next, there were a few chapters missing, he put a piece of paper to remember what needed explanation from a previous loss episode. He then just stared at you some more, it was quite interesting for him how focus you could get at something

“Wow…” You proclaim, closing the comic book and looking at the distance for a few seconds, trying to process what you have just read, and then looking at the turtle “That was such a roller coaster of emotion, like- like the fights a-and…“ You spoke fast, as if you were trying to put all your thoughts in one word "It just so awesome!! I can't describe it, I don't know how I have been living without knowing this" You kicked your feet with pure joy

Donnie was flapping his hand while listening to you talking about your first impression of the characters, story, just the whole thing! he didn’t want to interrupt but at the same time he wanted to ask so many questions about your thoughts. He felt himself over the moon just listening to you talking about one of his favorite things, he could barely conceal his delight “I know! I told you, this is a history treasure” he shouted, not being able to regulate his voice.

“I feel so foolish for thinking of such an amazing creation as childish, I shall regret my words and promise to worship this great creation.” You hold the comic with both hands, putting it in the air as a  sign of respect for a few seconds before snapping “Please, please!! show me some more” you got a little too close to the contrary 

Donnie would have usually pull you back, but his joy was just enough for him to not care and unconsciously put you closer instead “Oh dear y/n we are just getting started, this is not even a fraction of how amazing Jupiter Jim is” he took another comic book, holding it with both hand with the cover facing you, it was quite close to your face so you couldn't actually read the title “This is one of my favorite, buy I would need to explain some things, since to my sadness the first episode of this saga is missing” He put his chair closer to yours, opening the first page, you also got closer to get a better look “First…” He started explaining “The previous episode ended with this big battle between Jupiter Jim and…” You both began to read the comic, laughing and sharing your thoughts of the story. Time seemed not to move forward as you both enjoyed your time together, just having a fun time in the middle of this chaotic world, which may never be the same again, but for that moment you both forgot about that.

#rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt donnie #rise donnie #rise donatello #rottmnt donatello #rottmnt x reader #rottmnt donnie x reader #rottmnt x y/n #rottmnt x you #rise donnie x yn #rise donnie fanfic #rise donnie x you #rise donnie x reader #one shot #canon x reader #canon x y/n

[qqueenofhades]

I hate to rain on today’s much needed joy parade, but do you think the USA is headed for civil war in the near future? It’s increasingly feeling like 2024 is going to be a make or break year and with division at an all time high it feels like there’s going to be complete chaos in the streets even if we avoid crisis at the polls. Like, even though I’m in a “safe state” (for now) I’m seriously considering strategies of fleeing the country, just in case. Don’t know what I’m asking for, help? Reassurance maybe? Advice?

I think my answer to that is... yes but also no, and no but also yes, and yes but also no. Which I realize is not entirely helpful and not as clear as anyone would like, but let me try to explain:

The far-right has always been militant, violent, and prone to apocalyptic and fascist rhetoric. This isn't a new thing in American history, and it's come to the fore at moments of particular stress and division. Trump's presidency obviously gave much-unwanted oxygen to them, right when people were starting to claim that Obama's election meant that America was in a "post-racial era" (LOL), but they themselves are not new. We had the Civil War itself, we had the lynchings and racial terror and Jim Crow/Ku Klux Klan era, we had the Bund (the American Nazis) holding huge public gatherings in the run-up to WWII and enjoying substantial domestic support, etc etc etc. This is all scary and unsettling, and most of us don't have a personal memory of dealing with it before, because we're not old enough. But that doesn't mean it hasn't happened before, and that we haven't survived it.

Let's take yesterday, for instance. Trump spent all week promising fire and death and vengeance and playing literal videos of January 6th at his campaign rally in Waco, Texas (famed as the site of the Waco Siege of 1994; look it up). He insisted his supporters would rain vengeance on anyone who dared to arrest him and otherwise threatened mass-scale disturbances and the other tools of public violence that fascists use to enforce their will. And what happened? It's 12+ hours since the first indictment went through (30 counts of business/document fraud, which is not a piddling charge) and we've had bupkis. We've had a lot of Republican politicians tweeting their performative hypocritical outrage, yes, but we haven't suddenly had the country explode in fire and flame either. I'm sure there have been localized protests, but I haven't heard about major anything. And one set of indictments has gone through, others will be empowered to follow. In a way, I think it's a good thing that non-political crimes went first? Yes, the Republicans are screaming about a political witch hunt because that's literally the only thing they can do, but starting by nabbing Trump for relatively low-level (but still extensive) business fraud and then moving onto the treason sets a pattern and makes it easier to comprehend.

The thing is: Nazis, at heart, are cowards. They like to paint themselves as bold and valiant soldiers fighting for the Right Way of Life, but it's all fantasy, delusion, and cosplay. They were empowered to do January 6th because Trump was literally the sitting president and told them to do it, but that's no longer the case, and they're shit scared of facing anyone who might enforce real consequences on them. (Once again, if you take nothing else from following me: Nazis are punk-ass fucking pissant cowards who think they're tough and are in fact a bunch of asshole morons, the end.) The mantra of "Make Racists Afraid Again" is working, to an extent. Yes, we have hellholes like Missouri, Florida, Texas, and Tennessee where the state GOP is working as hard as they can to enforce the worst and most regressive laws imaginable, but that's still not universal. As I also say a lot, the reason Republicans attack, discredit, and outlaw voting so much is because they can never win a fair election on the merits. Their ideas suck, and on some level they know that. They just care about being cruel, fascist, and stupid, and while that's certainly a troubling and significant minority in America, it's not as big as anyone thinks.

Almost 60% of Americans think both that "woke" is a good thing and the cases against Trump should permanently disqualify him from holding any office again. Yet again: the GOP is in the minority, and that's why they use so many dirty tricks to establish and enforce their power. Also, I can guarantee you that not one of the keyboard warriors fulminating about how The Democrat Party Is Being So Mean To President Trump is ever going to actually go out and start an actual civil war. They have established interests, money, benefits from the system, and they don't want to overturn that. They want the masses angry and stupid, yes, but they want them angry and stupid in support of keeping discriminatory structures and systems in place. That can't work if there are no systems at all. Yes, we will still have white supremacists and fascists committing ongoing individual acts of violence, i.e. school shootings, and it's hard to argue that this doesn't constitute a civil war of some sort, or at least ongoing stochastic terrorism. But while you have people like Marge Two Names Greene out there blabbing about a National Divorce, I can guarantee you that if it ever came to actually DOING it, Marge and Brave Brave Sir Kevin would be nowhere to be found. Again: they want to derive power and money from the operation of an unfair system, not the end of that system. It sucks, but still.

Honestly, I want the Dominion lawsuit to keep going on, and dragging all of Fox News' hypocrisy, deception, and disinformation into the public eye. Fox is the biggest cancer on this country, as is the case with Rupert Murdoch's global disinformation empire overall (when, WHEN will HE fucking die, if we're talking death lottery wishlists?) But the lawsuit and its subsequent publicity has had an effect: a small but significant number of Fox viewers (26%) realized the network was lying to them, and 13% said that they no longer believed the 2020 election was stolen after reading about the Fox efforts to lie about it and then cover up their lies. So while the right-wing media bubble is huge and terrible, it's also not impenetrable, and taking Fox down/substantially discrediting it would have a major effect on the pay-for-play misinformation media sphere.

This is getting long, so let me try to sum up: the far-right advocating separatist fantasies of violence/war/fascist domination is not new, and has been a thing in American history for as long as there has been America. But at least in the current moment, it is not the majority, it is not widely popular, it will never be embraced by ordinary mainstream Americans and not just the insane cultists, its so-called devoted soldiers yell on Twitter and cable news and will never once be spotted actually fighting for it, and it's the cynical last gasp of a hate movement that is seeing its institutional and generational hold on America (and the world) finally on the brink of permanently shifting. So of course it's trying to make itself look as big and scary as possible, like any wounded animal, but it's on the back foot, and we have a chance to really kill it. Not permanently or forever, since that's the nature of human history, but at least for now and buy us some more time, and despite everything, I remain cautiously optimistic about our likelihood of doing so. I know it's scary, I know it's awful, I know it feels overwhelming, but it is still not winning, and it won't. As long as we do our part.

Hugs. Hang in there.

#anonymous #ask #history #american history #politics for ts

[polymysteryinciscanon]

There is something so fascinating about the fact that for months I was under the impression that Wrath of Khan is the most popular TOS movie and then I watch it and start looking at fandom stuff on it only to discover that a lot of fans...don't like it? And I don't entirely disagree.

Now it has its moments. Ricardo Montalban as Khan is an incredible performance, Spock's death and everything after is devastating, the score is effervescent.

But as an actual Star Trek movie? Meh. Jim's character arc is so similar to TMP but BECAUSE TMP exists it feels like a weak rehash. Spock is criminally underutilized and literally doesn't have an actual arc, mostly because, again, they already gave him his big arc in TMP. The supporting cast is great as always, but David's hatred for Starfleet is pretty unsubstantiated and its resolution feels unearned. "Jim Kirk has never faced death like this" is a bold faced fucking lie and I would be happy to provide a list. And overall I find it really hard to give a "beat the bad guy" plot reward for Best Trek movie because because Trek isn't meant to be a "beat the bad guy" series. TMP's resolution of reconsidering what life is, recognizing how valuable love can be, and putting the focus back on exploration and new knowledge feels more like what I love about Trek. Some of the scenes drag a little, sure, but nothing is perfect.

I'll probably make another post w/ a rough ranking when I finish watching the movies, I just wanted to get this out while it's fresh in my mind. I just think it's really interesting to see how different groups of fans think about this movie, because I absolutely thought it was just universally considered the best one.

#star trek #star trek tos #hot take #maybe #star trek the motion picture #star trek wrath of khan #jim kirk #spock #spirk #bc you can't talk about the TOS movies without talking about Spirk