#And the whole page is very… nice; about it? Idk. Anyway- the situation as a whole was referred to as ‘pederasty’ and was largely accepted

[heather-chandlers-weirder-cousin]

my insanity has paid off (useless amount of knowledge of topics that make the average person exceedingly uncomfortable)

[lynk-zee]

Idk if you take request or not, I saw through your pfp and didn't saw anything so I'm going to give it a shot at least and if it's not possible it's okay I still love your content anyways :3 a sfw of course of what kind of fans would be the LaD boys if instead of being a hunter (or we just simply decided to switch careers and it goes well for us because the plot said so) we were a popular idol, (I feel like zayne would be a closet fan 100% with the argument that nobody asked) and how they would be in the handshake events

Idol!MC

Authors Note: Hi! Love the request! I was planning on waiting until I have 100 followers before I drafted up a request/asks page but as my first request, there’s no time like the present! So ask page to be determined. Thanks for the request!

Let’s say that your heart condition prohibited you from ever entering the Hunters field, but was stable enough for you to dance and sing…

Zayne would have been a long time fan, even before you were famous. When you were children, he would always hear you sing with the prettiest voice and see you dance like you were floating on air… When you did end up becoming an idol, Josephine made sure he was one of the first people to know, sending him a pamphlet of your first performance. So you can say he’s an OG stan. His desk at home would be littered with merch from keychains to pins even to a framed autograph with your kiss stain (he flushes all the time when he sees it and he will take that secret to his GRAVE). He has one of your keychains on his lanyard, but it’s small enough that no one would recognize it unless they squint hard enough. When it comes to your meet and greet, you’re surprised to see your childhood friend standing there, wearing your tee-shirt, all blank-faced and stoic, waiting for a handshake.

MC: Zayne? I didn’t know you were a fan…

Zayne: …You never asked.

In his head, you and Rafayel are already dating. Sure, you haven’t formally met yet, but it would make sense, no? He, who expresses himself through his paint. You, who touches the hearts of fans through your voice. An inspired duo indeed. You would make beautiful art together. Rafayel would download all your albums, playing your music when he hits an art block, harnessing the feelings he gets when he watches your performances on his phone to make art about a soft flame kindling warmth amongst the cold. Meeting you was nerve-wracking. For all the pomp and circumstance he puts out, he’s shy to meet person of his dreams. But today was the day— no going back now! He bought backstage passes to meet you one on one, no distractions whatsoever. When you came in after the show, his cheeks flushed with fire and his ears turned red at how beautiful you were in person. After wiping the sweat off your face from such an intense performance, you gave him the prettiest smile he’d ever seen.

MC: It’s nice to meet you, Rafayel! I’m a huge fan of your art!

Rafayel: O-Oh, really? *ahem* I’m glad your as big a fan of my art as I am yours. I could give you a personal tour at the gallery if you’d like…?

Xavier didn’t exactly understand what it meant to be obsessed with an idol. Yes, he loves your music and thinks you’re very pretty, and sure, he’s indulged in buying some merch a few times, but spending three hours at a claw machine to get your limited addition plushie was normal right? Xavier is a pretty lowkey fan to be fair. He wears your tee-shirts to bed and works out to your music, but all of that stays within the house anyways. Him meeting you was by chance or fate, who knows. He couldn’t sleep at night, a rare occurrence, when he decided to take a walk to clear his head. All of a sudden, his hunters watch goes off and a shrill scream fills the air, calling him to action. As he swiftly takes care of the Wanderer, he turns to make sure the pedestrian was safe when he realizes it’s you. His very favorite idol. Xavier’s face goes blank as he processes the whole situation and you scramble to your feet to thank him.

MC: Thank you so much, Mr. Hunter! You’re my hero…

When you lean up to give him a kiss on the cheek, leaving a lipstick stain on his skin, he almost fainted.

[pomegranate]

I rewatched “Hanky Panky”, an episode I don’t revisit very often - in my opinion, it’s not a very good exploration of BJ and his faithfulness, and the concept kind of falls flat for me. The lovely @captainhunnicutt explains it perfectly in this post.

What it does do, however, is provide a fascinating depiction of Hawkeye reacting to his best friend being unfaithful. This turned out way longer than I wanted it to, so:

We see Hawkeye go through several phases, re: BJ and cheating. First, he teases him about it and the viewer is reminded (clumsily, see Shan’s post) that BJ is the ultimate family man - directly contrasting the charmingly lecherous Hawkeye.

Then we see the scene in the mess tent where they all get mail (BJ gets three letters! what a family man). BJ notices Carrie getting upset and leaving the tent, and he follows her, while Hawkeye silently observes BJ getting up from the table and leaving.

We don’t see Hawkeye again until the mess tent the next morning, where BJ shows up and Hawkeye plays up the worried parent angle before saying this. Note his posture during this scene; he crosses his arms when BJ shows up and when he says the line below, he shifts ever so slightly closer to BJ.

When BJ says he was sitting up with a sick friend, Hawkeye gleefully says “tell me all about it”, still enjoying getting a rise out of BJ. And then Carrie shows up and it’s obvious to everyone that something happened between her and BJ.

I know other people have talked about this scene so I’ll try to be brief, but Hawkeye is suddenly more awkward than we normally see him.

Hawkeye: “Donovan, you look like a new woman! Not that there was anythingwrong with the old one.” Carrie: “Thanks, I feel better.” Hawkeye: “Well, why shouldn’t we all feel good? Our work is so rewarding. Always lending a helping hand. Doing unto others.” BJ: “Hawk, your mouth runneth over.” Hawkeye: “I'm just teasing. I mean, do I know what I'm saying? Whatever it is, I don't mean it. Should I go?” BJ: “Just stop talking.” Hawkeye: “I will as soon as I get my foot out of my mouth. I think I'll put it someplace else. Ah, I'm being paged at the pool! Well, you two carry on. [laughs nervously] Strike that. This is me leaving. Here I go. Bye. So long.”

Hawkeye flees the mess tent and we don’t see him again until the Swamp, where BJ is writing a letter to Peg about what happened. He shows up and makes himself a martini before sitting down to be the comforting friend that BJ needs him to be.

(btw: in trying to goad BJ into opening up, Hawkeye says, “Pour your heart out. I'm a doctor, I can fix it.” Which is a line that makes me go nuts but anyway.)

So BJ opens up to Hawkeye and vents about how he doesn’t want to be unfaithful to Peg! He loves his family and is lucky to have what he has! Hawkeye is, of course, soft and sympathetic.

He realizes BJ was busy when he came in and asks him about it, and is immediately outraged when BJ explains that he’s confessing to Peg.

Hawkeye then makes BJ take a vow: “I promise to be a good and faithful husband, to write nice, cheerful letters home, to think of Peg often, and to keep my fat hands off Nurse Donovan.”

and then makes a vow of his own: “I, Hawkeye Pierce, vow that some day, I will take a vow just like his.”

Then we come to another awkward Hawkeye moment, where he finishes making his little vow and throws on a scarf, saying he’s “a little late for a very important date”.

Idk but Hawkeye didn’t seem like he had any plans when he entered earlier, and I know the obvious Doylist answer is “well they didn’t really think this scene through and we are simply meant to assume Hawkeye is going on a date”. But to me, it comes across as though he’s once again uncomfortable about the whole situation and has to flee BJ’s presence again.

It’s interesting to see how Hawkeye was very much having fun teasing BJ with the theoretical idea of him being unfaithful at first, but when he realizes that it’s actually happened - that BJ is not infallible and can & will have sex outside of his marriage if he lets himself - Hawkeye becomes incredibly nervous.

To go full Beejhawk in my interpretation of this episode, it feels like Hawkeye has been harmlessly flirting with BJ and enjoying having an unattainable crush on his best friend, knowing nothing could ever happen. And when he realizes that BJ can be pushed to be unfaithful, it rattles him. He has BJ make that vow and then vows to make his own version of the vow BJ made (not even touching that) and that’s that. What's the point of this post? I don't know tbh but I had to dump these thoughts somewhere and I've already done enough shouting at my pals on Discord. TL;DR: Hanky Panky is a weak episode in terms of exploring BJ's brush with infidelity but it's so interesting to look at with Beejhawk goggles on.

[scentofpines]

soooo i think the interview went well?? it was kinda odd lol we went for a walk outside and he just asked me which historical period i'm most interested in and why etc. And bc I was super panicky i rambled not very eloquently lmao but at some point i said that i was also very interested in historical women's movement and he went really hard on this and even brought up internet tradwives lol

but theeen there was this "test" and it was a book for teaching kids to read that was printed in 1941 and still used in the 50s and he asked me what was weird about the book and it took me ages AAAGESSS to realize that the first two pages were missing (they were taken out very cleanly and the whole book was coming apart so it wasnt obvious if you didnt look AT THE FRIGGIN PAGE NUMBER) and i looked at the table of contents and it would have been a chapter about "our Führer Hitler" so OFC they took that out in the 50s but the book still had a lot of nazi stuff in it anways. ughh but it was so embarassing bc stuff like that i would normally notice in seconds when im not panicking but my body just loves to fuck me up.

Anyways he loved the pic i brought and he said that he doesnt know why but he really liked my application (my guess is that i combined the colours and the layout/font very nicely hehe) and it sounded like i'm very likely gonna get the job. he even started talking about how i could write a publication about this project and how i should become a professor and infiltrate the uni with feminism??? and i just thought CHILLL dudeee i'm 2nd semester i dont know SHIIITTT.

idk i'm glad it went well ofc and i know i have to get a job at some point and this seems perfect but yeeeah i'm scared af. if my body doesnt at some point stop panicking in these situations i'm completely incapable of actually working on stuff in a concentrated and thorough manner.

[mettywiththenotes]

Idr if you ever compiled them all into a post but thoughts on ch. 377?

I think I made 6 posts about the chapter (all about little details I think) but I never compiled them into one post. I guess I could do that now?

Super curious about who the hell this is. I wondered if it was Future Izuku but. idk, maybe a bit of a reach considering Izuku's left hand has scars all over it and there are none shown here. So now I'm wondering if it's either Future All Might (which would be really nice) or Future Tomura. Waiting for the reveal of Cherry Blossom Person

I did NOT expect the Twice clones to be coming through the warp (for some reason), so here I wondered if we'd finally get the answer to the question of "Does Tomura know Twice is dead?"

Tomura molting his skin and emerging from it really reminded me of the whole moth/butterfly cocoon thing that's been happening with him. Specifically these panels seem similar to me

Idk like. the whole emerging from the cocoon into someone even more powerful, which I guess, with 377, you could attribute to Tomura shedding his "shell" (aka the control AFO had over him in possession) and emerging from the "shell" as another person (aka a different person than he was a moment before. as in, no longer fully possessed)

Anyway, they seemed similar to me

Also curious with how the pre-transformation sequence had stars all around TomurAFO, very much looking like the OFA stars, and then he molts his skin and the image on the left being what they look like afterwards maybe?

Almost like cherry blossom petals 👀 Or you know, dead skin from the old shell lol

With The Boys - Here's what I have so far

I love the whole page obvs. Izuku's stance, the reference to him asking if Tomura was still in there, the mall reference, Tomura going from wanting Izuku's help to being like "actually, no." (cat behaviour), Izuku recognizing Tomura's personality immediately (which may have been because Tomura threw in the mall reference line. subtle, fr, since AFO probably has no idea that Tomura isn't being that sarcastic there)

So far from what I can tell (with some analysis):

The way Tomura talks here is very "Why did you want to know if I'm here? So we can hang out together? So we can hold hands? So we can frolic into the sunset together? No, we'll never do that. You have to fight me. You have to, since I'm your Villain." Comes across sarcastic and bitter, like he's already accepted that Izuku can't do anything more than fight him

Fated enemies, fated opponents, were always meant to fight etc. Maybe Tomura is the only one who believes that still - or believes it in order to shield himself from the "harsh truth" that "Izuku really doesn't want anything to do with him" - while Izuku just wants to stop him and save him now. Even though, deep down, Tomura really does want to be saved - Or maybe it's to do with Tomura's dichotomy speech, that all they'll ever do is fight and there's no reason to be wondering if the other is capable of being saved or not, idk

The use of ORE, a parallel to Kurogiri/Shirakumo in 373 imo

Reference to the mall scene which definitely has to mean that Tomura never forgot about that scene (we been knew)

If I'm to go a little further, the mall scene represents a sort of honest vulnerability between the two (mostly coming from Tomura) because it is an honest scene. So Tomura mentioning it here could also mean "You want me to be vulnerable and honest with how I feel? Am I supposed to admit that I want your help? No way. You can't do anything about this situation. Your only choice is to fight me"

Does Tomura have new scars along his cheeks?? They don't really look like the scars he had before imo

Notice how one side of Tomura's face has that usual grin that we've missed so much, whereas the other half of his face is all wide-eyed and looks a bit like he's sweating (nervous). This makes me think that the half of Tomura grinning with the hooded eye is Tomura mostly in control, while the one with the wide eye is the AFO side realizing that he might be fucked here

But that's all I've got for now on that scene

Back to the rest of the chapter

All I can say is it's a good thing 2nd stopped Izuku from using his quirk in the middle of the ocean. If Izuku had used it, he would have either gotten there on time but struggled to breathe and needing to rest (which he wouldn't have time for) or wouldn't have gotten there in time while still attempting to catch his breath. Not a good plan, Izuku

(to me, that just shows how determined Izuku is to push himself in an unhealthy way. not thinking about the consequences, just thinking about not being a burden to everybody, just thinking about not getting everyone super involved in his mission and risking people getting seriously injured/dying again)

Hmmmm. I am thinking about the vault door in the Void, the door that could allow them to "see" inside each other (or go into the other's mindscape 👀)

I also made a post about how Bakugou and Izuku both helped Tomura get control back. They didn't do it on purpose, but I still think their actions and attacks helped AFO's control become unstable enough for Tomura to get a real chance at getting most of his control back

Aaaand that's it I think

[bisluthq]

Taylor has been 100x shadier when it comes to her exes as well as their ex partners. She released All of The Girls ffs. Kayla ain’t doing that. Idk why Swifties are acting so precious about what she does because by all accounts Taylor is much pettier. It’s like how Swifties are ready to revolt if Joe cheated on her meanwhile she’s said she’s cheated before and probably emotionally cheated on Joe.

Kayla legit isn't doing anything wrong.

I TOTALLY get it if you don't like her aesthetic or brand. That's just a matter of personal taste and no that would not be racist or misogynistic like that's just you liking what you like. Like I say, my fave influencer is Tally Rye and like if u tell me Tally annoys the shit out of you I'm not gonna go mount a defence because idk all influencers are a little annoying by definition and we just vibe with the ones that resonate. But like going "I don't like her aesthetic/brand" is one thing; going "I don't like her because she dated Taylor's boyfriend before Taylor did" is weird as shit lmfao.

Taylor shouldn't even be saying that because there is no evidence Kayla was like primarily at fault in the breakup/s. I've told y'all like I dislike my partner's ex-wife (who I've not met but might at some point because for the kids here who think otherwise you do bump into people y'all knew even if you're no longer in touch) because she hurt him super badly and was generally a crazy ass cunt and I'm the one now having to clean up some of her messes right because there are a number of hangups he has that are totally, 100% on her. The woman is a crazy ass cunt lol. HOWEVER, she is LITERALLY the only one of my bf's exes I dislike or have an opinion on beyond a few where they're nice and I like them (his first gf ever and him are still friends and she's in a tricky situation marriage wise right now and like we keep inviting her to come stay with us and we talk to her on speaker often and the two of them talk privately between that because like she's super lovely and I'm not going to be weird about him talking to someone he dated when he was 17-19 lol because like that was a long time ago???? And the girl is still nice!????)

My bf's most recent ex before me is someone I am very frostily neutral to but I think I told y'all the story as to why like when we moved in together he went off one morning about how I don't like tidy shit up and so I went to tidy shit up and I found a two page love letter from her from after the breakup like asking to get back together and I'm me right so I read the whole thing and 1) she's a shit writer lol 2) sorry for her that it didn't work like idk I guess as woman to woman I wish she'd managed to make it work since she seemed pretty upset in the letter 3) she left him - I mean they didn't live together or anything but they dated for like over a year - for her ex lol like that one's on her tho to then go writing letters is psychotic 4) I've asked him if like it'd make me feel better if I met with her like if we should yk reach out and invite her to stuff since it didn't end badly and he was like "no you're gonna hate the shit out of her and I don't want you to because I know how you're gonna make fun of her, and you will, but that's going to be making fun of me too and so you're better off in this current zone of neutrality" and I was like "fair enough king, I tried" (we have another ex he's still friends with - letter girl we hardly see around - he also doesn't want me to meet in person because apparently like her sociopolitical views are the kinds of shit I make fun of like a lot - like that ultra woke identity politics shit coupled with super centrist to right leaning fiscal policies and like lmfao yes I would make fun of that because that neoliberal shit makes no sense) but anyway: I don't dislike the clearly overly online woman lol and he can talk to her as much as he wants lmfao and I don't dislike letter girl like I don't want to read more letters from her but other than that she can do her thing.

So my point is if Taylor has no reason to be mad at Kayla why the fuck are fans mad?

[renticat]

You wouldn't understand me because we're not in the same page anymore.

It's funny but it's true. It's true because I scroll on of my following page and all the words (mostly poems about heart break and prayer) is just like soo strange to me now. Okay the heartbreak part maybe it's still true but not the other part and even like the cheeky longing for someone, I don't really feel that much anymore.

Okay lies but back then I limerence for someone who don't even see me as me, like he puts me like place to go when he's feeling sad but then my self love was zero and like hoping maybe one day he understand that I was always there for him.

And years of broken hears made me realize it was not worth it all along, if they don't want you as much as you want them, it's almost entirely your fault to staying in that situation, unless you want to be treated like consolation prize forever.

Back then I wouldn't understand this at all, like my mind on a whack but now, it's Tuesday again and someone kinda lied to me. It hurts but it doesn't hurt like bad before because I always thought the problem is me. Maybe at dome part but also they can be assholes and liar too so yeah if I let myself to be sad like this he won cause maybe the reason he's being so nice is because he's so horribly nice manipulative person ot idk he's not lying he just can't fulfill his words rn but isn't that already count as lies?

It's so sweet until it's not. It's like that you give someone power over to make you happy, you also give them power to makes you sad. But isn't that love to share and lowering your boundaries and really like being naked with all your feelings? Well it's true but again be careful because change also inevitable so unless you prepare for all the heartbreak, there's no one you can really trust (esp if they already knew too much about you, what makes you hurt). Yeah sharing is caring but also opening gates to your deepest darkest fear that's why the Robert Greene's book of power said something about just say what you needed, don't reveal too much because silence is power. Everything can be used against you, your words and I talk too much hope people would not misunderstood me but then mostly it just backfires anyway.

I have nothing to lose, and yeah I could handle the feelings lol not that is not hurt but it's getting better now managing my emotion. Is just funny all the Indonesian writings I like is not resonance with me anymore, only some very little of them because it's just whole different page of me now, I am not in the same chapter.

And I remember you, saying something like this back then and now I understand. I've been into those position before and now I am not but yeah I do understand is just different now. You ever fall in love with someone, someone who didn't put as much effort as you and then you feel so miserable and unloved because you feel stuck and it's like hopelessness get the best of you so you're sticking around until you found someone better that truly loves you and understand you. It's amazing, I am happy for you but also sad because now you're abandoning me? Your friend because you just don't need me anymore. Idk.

And yeah I wish I could met someone just like you and then starting a new chapter but Idk if I can be that lucky. I never been that lucky and I am impatient cat as the lies has built up so high now I can't even tolerate mild bullshit. Gosh, the recommendations though in this tumblr still kinda crazy, I have this for more than 10 years but yeah never posted until 7 years ago, and I wiping out again and again as my life in real life is going on and off also.

I didn't speak English that much back then haha just reblogged something cute, pictures and yeah I was just 16 lol now I feel so old like grandma. Fuckk see why can't I chill and not swearing? Well it's because it's not my language. Sorry huhuhu. So you also just want to read what you already believe then? Haha yes and no because I've been on that position and now I can explain it a little the cognitive dissonance and yeah read more about psychology.

You need to be aware what you put in your mind but then like this now, I just mindlessly scrolling because I miss someone who didn't miss me. It's not that easy getting rid of this habit esp when you have the hunger of love you didn't received as a kid. Need works and lots works but in the end it will get better. Yeah if you want to. My emotional state is actually better is just the financial state makes me desperate but then it's so bad because years of on and off sadness and me trying to untangled the root of all the craziness. Indoctrination. Is no joke. Some people fit and love it some have no choice but to obey and ofc everything is great and okay if you choose to but in my case is not that I want it.

So yeah miss me, call me. Lol but you just give me something when you're lonely, sly foxes. I hope everything will get better even I don't know hoe. How.

☹️

Hmmmm arghh I am sad hope someone just adopt me as their cat for real.

Take me away from here... Ugh 😒

[demonicintegrity]

more Helluva s2e1 thoughts

- I don’t think Stolas was crushing on Blitzo for all that time. I think after that day they fell out of contact and that was that. Stolas was trying to use the anniversary party as a chance to catch up on those 25 years, but I don’t think there was that string overly attached to it. There’s a solid chance that yea, lil Stolas was infatuated but he was also roughly 10, so he would’ve gotten over it soon enough. He just wanted to catch up, it was a nice out to a shitty party anyways. And then as I said in my last post, it quickly became throwing himself into an escapism fantasy because holy hell was Stella’s abuse starting to crack him.

- Speaking of Blitzo, his dad was shitty in his own way. We see his father leverage his mother and the family situation to get Blitzo to steal, even if it could’ve put him in harms way.

- Seriously, i was so worried for Blitzo and Stolas in those scenes. If Blitzo was caught he very well could’ve been killed for it, depending on how merciful Paimon would be. There would’ve been serious punishments dealt. To Blitzo and him when the child obviously would’ve snitched.

- He says it can be used for a bigger tent and for better food. So we know the family circus is doing well enough to draw a good crowd and warrant a bigger tent for more acts w/ the amount of imps they have in it. But yet the the income is also unsteady/little enough to be explicit about being cheap with food. My guess is the father is using the money for drugs. That’s why he took Paimon’s five dollars over a check for what could’ve been hundreds if not thousands. Cash is used for drug deals because it’s under the table work. Even if it’s legit in Hell, cash is also instant, where as a check needs to be processed in a bank. He could’ve gotten more right after that interaction. An addiction would be able to convince a father to give up his son for a time for drug money. Addiction also runs in the family and we know Blitzo’s sister was/is in rehab. It wouldn’t be the first time the shows would tackle substance abuse.

- The page of Asmodeus Crystals has been translated by other fans. The sparknotes of it is that it’s a crystal used to let incubuses and succubuses get to the living world. That’s how Verosika and her crew got to the spring break party.

- I think this is what Blitzo was going to use to do IMP work but then he broke up with Verosika. Idk what happened between them but post breakup he couldn’t use it anymore/if he was using it at all. But then he remembered Stolas had a book and took it upon himself to get it. Which is. A pretty ballsy move tbh.

- It might’ve been desperation at this point. Post break up, estranged from Fizz/probably his circus family as a whole, and now having both employees and a daughter to provide for. The crystals are set in jewelry specifically so they can be worn and not lost/stolen easily, so he mustve had trouble in order to go for a Prince’s grimoire.

- And I think Stolas was looking those up because he could give Blitzo that and then cut him from this escapist lie for good. Many people think this might be the case. So it’s either that and/or he was curious as to what could’ve linked him and Verosika together.

- Still don’t know anything about Blitzo and Verosika’s relationship, other than he just up and left at random and that was that. I don’t forsee us getting a ton of context anytime soon. But maybe eventually.

- Rewatching the trailer for season two, I think Blitzo will be getting his own backstory episode or two in the season as well. If s1 was current day as it is, s2 is shaping up to be looking at the past to see how everyone got here. Of course the focus will be on Blitzo primarily because it’s the IMP this show is about, he is the Helluva Boss that it’s titled after. The rest of the employees have always been his supporting cast. But as we’ve seen, Stolas and Fizz are very intertwined with his past so it’s going to be addressed this year.

- My guess at the plotline is so vague. Season 1 for Blitzo was the present to distract. For Stolas it was the present to escape/the bg separation arc happening. Season 2 for Blitzo is likely addressing the past while for Stolas it’s going to be addressing the present truthfully and his divorce arc.

- I wonder if he’ll fight for custody of Octavia. If it works anything like (us) human courts she has a stay in where she goes, even if her mother tries to influence/bribe/threaten/fight it. He also is going to be his family heir I believe, not hers. He wouldn’t even need any child support money because he is the one with the money, Stella herself said it. He can easily say wave all custody and i won’t ask for child support. But also, there’s courtly nonsense attached to the parents so who knows.

- I have. No idea what Blitzo is going to be up to. If it follows the season 1 formula it’s still gonna mostly be about the different jobs IMP takes, so probably that. I do think from the trailer we’ll see some of the work Blitzo mightve been doing before forming IMP.

- We’ll also see development on Striker’s mission against Stolas. And knowing how he feels about the goetia, if he had the opportunity to double cross Stella after payment I think he’d take it. I also think this mission against Stolas is what’s going to force Blitzo and Stolas to talk again, because I don’t think either of them want to see each other for a little bit.

- Remember, the relationship was escapism for Stolas and a transaction for Blitzo. Blitzo didn’t mean for feelings to get attached and thought Stolas was equally as transactional. Stolas was aware he was being delusional in this “love” because he needed an escape. If either of them want to process all that baggage they have and then created, they need space.

- But they also need communication. And closure, if this really is the end of any intimate relationship. So they will need to have an honest conversation at some point, smth I don’t see Blitzo as very capable of doing.

- Stella is right, Stolas’ rep is done for. She was already bashing on him during their marriage and im sure even moreso during the separation. But this divorce will be the nail in the coffin. I doubt the noble families will care about the abuse, if they believe it at all if they continue to parallel how our society treats male abuse victims. No, he won’t care for what it does to himself, but he will care when it inevitably affects his daughter. I wonder if Paimon will make another appearance to give his thoughts about it.

- We’re in for one helluva season two. I can only hope the crew survives to show it.

[itsclydebitches]

Hi! I was just watching good omens and I came up with some questions, but I didn't know whom to ask, so I was digging around for go analysis blogs and found you. *takes a breath* So, I was wondering if you had any thoughts on why Heaven's camera angles are the way they are. I noticed that, in heaven, the camera tends to focus on the characters' heads specifically, so they fill most of the screen. Either it's a meta reason or a reference to something (like Newt with the Office) that I'm not getting. That's the main thing, but I've also wondered why exactly Aziraphale uses the verb "fraternize" in the 19th century. It seemed an odd pivot from caring about Crowley's safety to Heaven's rules. Thanks so much!

Hello! Omg yes, let's talk Good Omens cinematography.

First, the obligatory Analysis Disclaimer: I doubt there's a specific interpretation that you're just not getting, some singular, "correct" reading of the scene(s). Two years past release, I'm positive the fandom as a whole has come up with plenty of ideas (I mostly hang on the periphery. I'm far from up to date with GO meta), but any and all of it will, by nature, be subjective. Thus, all I can offer is my own, personal interpretation.

So for me? It's about intimacy.

Not intimacy in the sense of friendship, but rather the broad idea of closeness. Confidentiality. Emotion. Knowledge. Understanding by means of literally getting into the thick of these conversations. I love the camerawork in Heaven (and elsewhere) because the camera itself acts like a person — an additional party to these interactions. And, since we're the ones watching this show via the camera, it makes it feel as if we're peeking into scenes that are otherwise private. Obviously all cinematography does this to a certain extent, the camera is always watching someone or something without acknowledging that we're doing the watching (outside of documentary-esque filmmaking), but GO uses angles and closeups to mimic another person observing these scenes, someone other than the characters involved.

The easiest example I can give here is when Michael makes their call to Ligur. Here, the camera is positioned up on the next landing of the staircase, as if we're sneaking a look down at this otherwise secret call. There's even a moment when the camera pans to the right to look at them through the gap in the railing, briefly obscuring Michael from our view.

Here, a standard expectation of any scene — keep your character in focus — is done away with to instead mimic the movements of someone actually hiding in the stairwell, listening in on the conversation. It creates that feeling of intimacy, as if we're really there with Michael, not just watching Michael through a screen. The camerawork acts like a person overhearing an illicit conversation prior to falling back on mid/closeup shots. We're spying on them.

To give a non-Heaven example, the camera helps us connect with Aziraphale during Gabriel's jogging scene. It's hard to show through screenshots, but if you re-watch you'll see that the camera initially keeps them both in the frame with full body shots, allowing us to compare things like Gabriel's unadorned gray workout clothes with Aziraphale's more stylish outfit; one's good jogging form and the other's awkward shuffle. However, this distance also creates the sense that we're jogging with them, we're keeping pace.

That is, until Aziraphale begins to lag. Then the camera lags too, giving them both the chance to catch up, so to speak.

Until, finally, Aziraphale has to stop completely and the camera, of course, stops with him. We're emotionally attuned to Aziraphale, not Gabriel, and the camerawork reflects that. Even more-so when we cut to a low shot of Gabriel's annoyed huff at having to stop at all, making him appear larger and more imposing. Because to Aziraphale, he is.

This work carries over into Heaven's other scenes. The closeups are pretty much a given since, whether it's Gabriel realizing Aziraphale has been "fraternizing" with Crowley (more on that below!), or Aziraphale choosing to go back to Earth, the scenes in Heaven are incredibly important to the narrative. Closeups allow the viewer to get a good read on each character's emotional state — focusing on minute facial changes as opposed to overall body language — and that fly-on-the-wall feeling is increased as we literally get an up close and personal look at these pivotal moments.

Compare a shot like this one of Gabriel to the line of angels ready for battle. We don't get closeups on any of their faces because their emotions aren't important. Yes, that's in part because they're background characters, not main characters, but a lack of emotion — their willingness to enter this war without question — is also the point of their presence in this scene. So they remain a semi-identical, nearly faceless mass that runs off into infinity down that hallway, not any individual whose inner life we get a peek at via a closeup.

I particularly like Aziraphale's conversation with the angel... general? Idk what to call this guy. He's just gonna be Mustache Angel. But, getting back on track, his scene has a lot of over the shoulder shots which, admittedly, are pretty common. From a practical perspective they're used to help the audience situate both characters in the scene — you're here, you're there, this is how you're spaced during this conversation — but it can also help emphasize that closeness between them. Keeping both characters in the shot connects them and though Aziraphale and Mustache Angel definitely aren't on the same page here, those shots help cue us in to the unwanted intimacy of this moment. They're both angels... even though Aziraphale no longer aligns himself with them. They're both soldiers in a war... but Aziraphale will not fight. This angel has a list of Aziraphale's secrets, including that he once had a flaming sword and lost it... but Aziraphale doesn't want to admit those circumstances to him. This angel wouldn't understand, even if he did. Intimacy here, connection and closeness, is something discomforting because Aziraphale can no longer embrace those similarities. They put him (and us) out of sorts, so when we get them both in frame, that connection creates tension, not relief.

And many of those over the shoulder shots are given sharp angels, or the camera is placed too close to the "off screen" party. Compare a shot like Luke and Rey to Aziraphale and Mustache Angel. Here, Luke is a clean, solid line on the left side of the screen, just enough there to cue us in to where he is in relationship to Ray, In contrast, Mustache Angel's mustache is Too Close and proves rather distracting. Rey and Luke are connecting here over being Jedi with responsibilities to uphold (or at least, Luke will acknowledge that connection later lol); Mustache Angel is forcing a connection with Aziraphale that makes everyone uncomfortable.

We are too close to him here. He feels too close to Aziraphale too. This whole conversation is upsetting and discomforting, pushing Aziraphale to finally choose which side he's on (his own with Crowley). The shots aren't meant to subtly keep the audience from getting lost and then otherwise be unobtrusive, we're supposed to be Very Aware of this angel's body and how close he's getting to the character we've come to identify with — both literally (he's leaning in) and in terms of forcing Aziraphale to finally make his choice.

When Mustache Angel marches forward and gets all up in Aziraphale's face, the camera positions itself behind Aziraphale in a way that makes it feel like we're hiding behind him, with Aziraphale taking up far more of the screen than Luke does. Like the scene with Michael or running with Gabriel, the camera often likes to mimic a "realistic" response to these events. This angry, shouty angel is getting closer, best take a step back and stay out of sight behind Aziraphale, holding his ground.

These closeups also serve as a nice contrast to the wide and longshots we get of Heaven. It's an imposing place with skyscrapers in the distance, lots of steel, immaculate floors, and endless white. It's overwhelming and it's cold. But then we cut to those mid-shots of Gabriel and Michael, telling us that they're in control of it all.

Aziraphale? Aziraphale is not in control. Not now, anyway. When he appears in Heaven we get a longshot to show off this endless void and he's just another, tiny speck in it. If he weren't flailing around — an acting move that likewise helps sell how out of his depth he is — it's unlikely you'd even notice him. Aziraphale's clothing and hair blends in perfectly with the background. He's forgettable. Easily overlooked. Someone to underestimate. And when he moves, he has to come to the camera. We don't cut to Aziraphale to establish control like we do with Gabriel. He's left to awkwardly shuffle up to Mustache Angel until he's finally come into view.

Yet when Aziraphale makes his decision, he aligns himself with the brightest, most colorful, most interesting thing in the room: Earth. Earth, with all its messy individuality, is the antithesis to Heaven's controlled uniformity and a bright blue orb hanging in the midst of all this white helps remind us of that. Aziraphale rejects becoming one of the identical soldiers and instead literally reaches out for the one thing in Heaven that doesn't fit in.

When he leaves, we get an extreme closeup for the first time. Mustache Angel is pissed and as such we not only get a good look at his face in the aftermath of Aziraphale's choice, but that extreme closeup on his mouth as he's shouting too. It's like he's shouting directly at us, the viewer who is currently cheering on Aziraphale's decision. There's a war, dammit... but we don't care. Not in the way he cares, anyway.

So there's a lot! And I could probably go on, but apparently I'm only allowed to add 10 images per post now (tumblr what the actual fuck if anyone knows a way around this please share!) and I've already had to merge a bunch of images like an animal. So let's awkwardly finish up with the duck pond scene.

...without a GIF because they apparently count as images too 🙃

Simply put, I don't think Aziraphale bringing up fraternizing is a pivot from one to the other — from caring about Crowley to caring about Heaven's rules. I mean yes, Aziraphale is lagging behind Crowley in terms of rebellion and a part of him is, at this point, absolutely concerned with how he'll come across to the higherups, but that worry doesn't stem solely from a (now very shaky) desire to obey for the sake of obeying. The thing is, Aziraphale's disobedience is, by default, also Crowley's disobedience. If they're friends and they're ever found out, they'll both get in trouble. Which, we know from the end of Season One, basically means being wiped from existence. That's horrifying! And it's a horror that threatens them both. I don't think Aziraphale cares about rules for the sake of rules; after all, he started off by giving away his sword, lying to God, is currently meeting with Crowley anyway... this angel has always ignored/bent the rules — established and implied — that don't suit him. Rather, he cares about the rules if he thinks they have a chance of being enforced. If there will be consequences for breaking and bending them. This is still about caring for Crowley (as well as saving his own, angelic skin). If they're found out, Crowley dies. And, as we the viewer learn, Heaven was indeed observing them that whole time. There was always legitimate risk attached to this relationship. Aziraphale's fear, hesitance, and at times forceful pleas to stop this stem as much from Aziraphale worrying about Crowley's safety as they do a learned instinct to obey the rules without question. He pushes to end the relationship because the relationship threatens the only thing Aziraphale cares about more than that: Crowley himself.

As for the term "fraternizing," that's a loaded one! I won't go into a whole history lesson here, but suffice to say it has military roots: to sympathize as brothers with an opponent. That is literally what Crowley and Aziraphale are doing. They are an angel and a demon, supposedly innate enemies, supposedly poised for an inevitable war... yet they've formed an incredibly strong kinship. They've both learned to love their enemy, the thing every army fears because, well, then your army won't fight (just as Aziraphale won't). However, beyond the enemy implications, "to fraternize" eventually took on a sexual meaning: to not merely love as a brother, but to lay with the enemy too, usually women from enemy countries (because, you know, heteronormativity). Nowadays, "to fraternize" often implies a sexual component. I've been rewatching The Good Wife lately and in one subplot, the State's Attorney cracks down on fraternization in his office. He doesn't mean his employees are forming bonds with assumed enemies, he means his employees are having sex on his office couch. So Aziraphale's phrasing here carries a LOT of weight. He's both reminding Crowley of their stations in the world — you are a demon, I am an angel, us meeting like this can have formal, irrevocable consequences for us both — as well as, given the fact that this is a love story, drawing attention to the depth of this relationship. They love one another, as more than just friends. Though whether Crowley's scathing "Fraternizing?" is a response to Aziraphale falling back on the technicalities of their positions, or acknowledging a love he's yet to overtly admit and commit to — or both! — is definitely up for debate.

[national-nobody-writes]

Self Love Retrospective

Rules: it’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 (or so) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought to the world in 2021. Tag as many creators as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

I was tagged by the absurdly talented @irolltwenties!

2021 was a very weird writing year for me. It felt like I posted a LOT (well, a lot for me anyway) but also like I didn’t get anything done?? Idk man, time is a flat circle. I’m both happy with all the fics I posted this year, and also weirdly detached from them bc the writing process often felt like I blacked out and suddenly there were words on the page I barely remembered putting there, lol.

ANYHOW, in 2021 I wrote a total of 45,254 words across 8 completed works and 1 WIP (which will prob ultimately count toward my 2022 works since it’ll be completed in January). Here’s my top 5:

5. More Alike Than Not - JayRoy | Rated T | 1.7k | Young Justice/Earth 16

A Double Red Week fic! Like every event I’ve participated in, my plans were more ambitious than I was able to accomplish, but I had such a good time playing around with YJ!JayRoy all that week. I have so many plans for longer/more in depth fics involving them, but this one shot is a nice summation of why I think Arsenal x Jason works so well conceptually in this universe, and what would draw them to one another. Though not a particularly in-depth character study, it does examine the odd dynamic & parallels between Roy & Will and how Roy feels about it.

4. Left on Read - JayRoy | Rated T | 2.3k | Young Justice/Earth 16

Basically, Roy is bad at texting back and Jason is like a grumpy cat in human form about it, lol. Tbh I keep flipping back and forth between whether I like this fic or Proximity more. Both were also for Double Red Week, but Left on Read is a bit fluffier and more humorous, whereas Proximity is more of a pining/yearning, hurt/comfort sorta deal. I think I just enjoy reading back Left on Read a bit more because 1) Jay gets to be sassier and more ridiculous, which I adore, and 2) While I’m happy with Proximity, I think I could have elevated it to another level had I taken more time with it and put it through a few more rounds of edits. But, you know what they say. Perfection is the enemy of good and all that.

3. Entwined - ThanZag | Rated E | 7.2k | Hades (video game)

Y’all, when I tell you Hades had me by the THROAT this past year?!?! Whew. I may never recover. Play this game, romance Death, and then go read this fic if you want an expansion on that whole fade-to-black situation between Than and Zag. I still can’t believe they’re not only canon but also poly with Meg. I love them so much it makes me look STUPID. Anyway, while 90% of the smut I write is just two Extremely In Love idiots being sappy af, this is like, EVEN MORE than usual. So, you’re welcome I guess, lol.

2. Marked For Death - ThanZag | Rated T | 12.7k | Hades (video game)

Oh, this was SO much fun. I love this fic, I’m actually so proud of it. Basically, there is a game mechanic I discovered that sent my mind spinning bc of the in-universe implications, and then this happened. The game’s narration is done in a fun, purple-prose-adjacent style, so I went ham trying to match it, which was such a blast. Also, I’d say action is one of my big weak spots as a writer, so this was a perfect excuse to work on that. It was super rewarding to complete, and felt like such a success when I got a number of people giving unprompted positive feedback in the comments specifically about the action aspect of the fic.

1. Love Me Tender - Bluepulse | Rated E | 8k | Young Justice/Earth 16

Okay, so this was never supposed to be it’s own fic. But, I needed to post it in order to stop myself from endlessly editing it for the rest of my existence (which did in fact work!), so that I could move on to the unfinished parts of (still in progress) Remember Me, Chapter 5. Like I said, 90% of the smut I write is just two Extremely In Love idiots being sappy af. That applies here for sure. All Bart’s POV. As silly and flirty and ridiculous as it is smutty. Possibly the best E rated fic I’ve written to date (at least I should hope so, considering early, and now unrecognizable, drafts of this scene date back 2-3 years). Def the one I was most afraid to share, and prob the one I’ve ultimately become the most proud of.

I feel like 2021 was a rough year for a lot of my mutuals in terms of creating/posting content (I feel you), but if any of y’all would like to share, please do!! And I’ll tag @ofmorninglory and @incorrectbatfam​ (though no pressure of course <3)

[raspberryranpo]

hey!!!!!! idk if request r open rn but!!!!!!! if they are, can i suggest first date hcs with the blue lion boys?? since theyre the only house you havent done?

their first dates with you

fire emblem three houses: blue lion boys

DUDE i have no idea what happened overnight but i woke up with like 60 notifications lmao

& thank you so much!! yes requests are open lolol

DIMITRI

not only would this be yours & dimitri’s first date.... but it would probably be dimitri’s first date EVER

he had no clue what you’d even do on a date so he had to resort to asking sylvain (but that didn’t go so well)

luckily he had mercedes and annette to turn to, and they just told him to be himself

which he didn’t quite understand but he just went with it

anyway..... he’d probably show up to your dorm with a boquet of flowers (lavender ones) but they’d probably be a bit crushed at the stems due to how nervous he was

but he’d hold them out to you anyway & apologise for his nervousness

dimitri’s face is definitely red for the whole day too

he was very desperate to hold your hand (since he’d seen sylvain doing it) but was afraid that he’d crush you

so he resorted to offering you his arm instead

he probably took you on a walk through the forest near the monastery

he wanted to use that opportunity to learn more about you, but it instead ended up being him telling you all about the different types of trees you could see

i bet he knows literally everything about trees and plants ok (thank dedue)

annette and mercedes gave him a little picnic to have with you & dimitri was very excited to show you the cute little sandwiches they made

he’d talk to you about something you’re very interested in (he did a lot of research) and then watch as you rambled on about something he has no idea about

he has the cutest look in his eyes, too full of love

throughout the entire day all he did was make sure you were smiling too, and he was constantly trying to make you laugh

he told a few jokes (probably about something actually really sad) but they didn’t go too well. you laughed anyway though

either way you had a really fun time, mostly because of how cute dimitri was being

DEDUE

dedue has also never been on a date

but he has more common sense than dimitri so obviously he doesn’t go to sylvain for advice

dates with dedue probably don’t go how dates are supposed to go - you guys just hang out together, maybe you kiss, maybe you just hold hands

you quietly sit in the greenhouse together, tending to dedue’s flowers

you’re probably one of the only people he lets touch his flowers, seeing as though he loves you a lot

it would be peaceful & quiet, and the only times either of you would speak would be when you’d ask about a certain flower, or when dedue would tell you about the plant he was looking after at the time

maybe after you both finish watering & weeding all the plants, you’d just sit there in comfortable silence, enjoying each other’s presence

i’m sure chef deddles (love chef deddles) would bring you a small sized version of whatever dish he was working on at the moment

or he’d bring you something he’d made up himself for you to try first

anything he makes or does, the first person he’d show is you

dedue brings a blanket or something to wrap around the two of you as you sit later on into the night

he worries that doing this is too boring, or it’s not a good enough first date

but you just have to reassure him that it’s nice & that you enjoy it :(:( he’s too anxious bless

as he’s walking you back to your dorm, he’ll gently take your hand & tell you that he’s had a very nice time

maybe he’ll just gently kiss your cheek, or if he’s not feeling that confident, he’ll just squeeze your hand & give you the gentlest smile

SYLVAIN

sylvain has been on many a date so he knows EXACTLY what he’s doing

he takes you to a cute little cafe in town

he wanted to take you to a restaurant at the start, but decided against it since he had no idea if you’d like that or not

but everyone likes a little cafe date... right?

since he’s actually bothered to formally ask you on a date & is serious about you, he’d probably bring you one or two of his favourite books

because we all know he’s actually a smarty pants

he’d hold your hand or have an arm wrapped around your waist on the way there, & he’d point out all the places he’s been kicked out of for flirting with the waitresses (or even the owner) because he knows you won’t judge him for that

anyway. when you get there, he insists on sitting on one of the couch chairs (or whatever they had in the 12th century) and at first you sit opposite each other

he likes it that way since you can both talk to each other face to face (and he can playfully tap your feet under the table)

the day is full of jokes & weird stories that sylvain has

somehow he’s met literally everyone and anyone and always has the most wack story for any situation

he also playfully flirts with you - it’s not serious (even though he means it) but it’s so cheesy it’s funny

after a while, when the cafe is quieter, sylvain comes and sits with you on your side of the table

he just wraps an arm around your shoulders using the old yawn & stretch trick

leaning over, you feel his lips on your cheek & he just whispers a little “thank you” for allowing him to have a real date

FELIX

felix is born different. he’s a different breed

he does not have any experience since he’s NEVER HAD A CRUSH. or so he says

and he’s too stubborn to ask anyone for help so he just does whatever he feels like

by that, i mean you guys definitely stay in the training hall for the entire day

if you accepted felix’s feelings you knew exactly what you were getting into, so deal with it

he forces you to spar with him for most of the day but he cares about you too much to overexert you

when you both take a break he sits really close to you for no particular reason other than to sit close to you

this is felix’s romance. sharing sweat (aw)

he also goes easy on you when you’re fencing

not that he thinks you’re incapable of fighting at his level, but that he just doesn’t want to accidentally stab you

sometimes he lets you win & really sarcastically says something like “aw, damn! you’ve won again...!” with this really soft smile on his face

only on the premise that nobody else is around

on the way back he won’t hold your hand or anything but he’ll constantly look back at you with the fondest look in his eyes

he probably looks down at your hands wishing he has the courage to actually hold them too

at the end of the day when he’s walked you all the way back to your dorm, he’ll very spontaneously kiss you right on the lips

he’ll have a very firm hold of your face but all of a sudden he’ll just let go & run off with his face bright red

sylvain probably saw and that’s why he left so suddenly looool

ASHE

i was going to say something stupid like ghost hunting but ashe would probably rather die

he’d probably just sit in the library with you and discuss books with you for a few hours, nothing too major

but ashe has a way with words & can tell old tales as though he was there (even if i’m remembering his character wrong, let’s just pretend)

you’d ask him about the book he’s currently reading & he’d tell you the plot of it (without spoiling it obviously) and the way he’d word it would make you want to pick it up immediately

the both of you just sit in the library quietly for hours, reading a book each

the only time either of you would talk would be when either one of you would laugh at something in your book & you’d have to explain the joke to the other

obviously ashe won’t allow either of you to stay up really late (no later than like 7) because the monastery gets dark at that point

and you know what comes out when the monastery gets dark?

absolutely nothing. but it’s funny seeing ashe scream at shadows so don’t say anything

i imagine that your first date goes so well, ashe forgets about the time & you both come out of the library at like 11:00

it’s a wonder seteth hasn’t found the two of you

anyway. your date actually turns out to be a ghost hunting trip (alternate title: ashe runs away from the ghosts while you laugh at him, and neither of you can see where your dorms are)

it’s fun anyway. well, not in ashe’s opinion

at some point you see this really big shadow that’s moving towards you and you both scream thinking it’s a really evil ghost

suddenly a torch is lit on the wall & turns out its seteth

“i knew i intimidate many students, but surely i don’t elicit a scream that loud!”

seteth quietly escorts the two of you back to the dorms and it’s really awkward

he eventually leaves you both alone & ashe sighs the biggest sigh of relief you’ve ever heard

he quietly thanks you and, with the most courage he’s ever had, he pecks your cheek & runs off

my first ask 🤪🤪 thank you so much!!! ah this was fun to write

requests are still open by the way!! for any of the fandoms on my rules page lolol

[river-bottom-nightmare]

Nightwing #81 Review

i swear i actually thought no one was interested so i didn’t write one but a grand total of two (2) people said they wanted to read it, so here it is. honestly, my opinion’s been going a bit downhill, but the art is really cool and there are some decent parts so. holding out i guess? i really hope taylor has an end goal or at least a cohesive plan, otherwise i don’t see this series going anywhere i’ll particularly enjoy

the cover is very straightforward in its imagery, this villain has nightwing in the palm of his hand, easily manipulated, easily controlled no matter the action dick thinks he’ll take. 

what i find interesting is the colour: both previously and heavily in this issue, the colourist has chosen to make pink this villain’s main colour, with different shades of pink as accents. so why the red in the cover? possibly to just make it more eye-grabbing, though one could argue that pink is even more eye-catching than red. maybe to convey a sense of dread or fear that pink won’t fully get across. either way, it’s definitely a decision i’m curious about.

so melinda zucco is in a high enough political position within bludhaven that she is next in line to become the mayor after the previous mayor died and dick just,,,,didn’t have any idea she existed? dick didn’t know anything about her? forget dick’s own brilliant detective skills, forget his doggedness at anything zucco related, you’re telling me bruce never found her and told dick about her? maybe he wouldn’t have now, but back when dick was a young kid, he definitely would have at least made dick aware of her existence, to let dick know and ask if he wanted to interfere with her life or anything.

i have a thought about zucco’s facial expressions. she is very much stone-cold poker face throughout the entire issue. the only time i see her pull a different expression is near the end when dick corners her against a wall with an arm around her throat. 

this is most certainly intentional, what with the varied and intense expressions we see on other characters, dick most prominently. i’m wondering what exactly is the creative team’s reasoning behind this. in these panels, zucco is meeting with the most dangerous, powerful, near-bloodthirsty man in all of bludhaven and becoming the mayor of the city respectfully. in both of these panels, there is barely a hint of emotion in her face: no fear, no determination, no satisfaction. it’s just odd, considering the circumstances she’s in, regardless of any training recieved.

just spitballing here but. like. from what i’ve read so far, dick doesn’t really seem like bludhaven’s guardian angel. more like when peter parker first put on spandex and blindly stepped out into new york.

dick, how exactly can you underestimate someone from one move. so he caught your escrima. anyone with enhanced reflexes can do that. you still don’t know how he can actually fight, and this is shown in the next set of panels. 

i just don’t like the wording here. dick’s “underestimated” him, but beats him up easy in the next page. in addition, i don’t know much about combat, but i would assume it would take more than one move to determine exactly what an opponent’s skill level is, made even more complex when you add physical enhancements and metahumans and aliens into the mixture.

idk my first thought when i saw that he caught the stick was “ah ok he’s enhanced” because obviously he couldn’t have reacted fast enough if he wasn’t (as there are few people trained enough to catch it on human reflexes alone.) then the wording in the next panel, i’ve underestimated him, made me think “oh no ok so he’s not enhanced, he’s just a really good fighter and can give dick a run for his money in a fight.” then, it turns out my first assumption was proven correct in the next panel. it just comes across as misleading to me.

(also sidenote but his curls are cute.)

have i praised the art enough in this series? no, i have not.

i adore the way this is laid out and illustrated. without even having to read the text, the action sequence is visually engaging and intense, and easily followable from one panel to the next. dick’s physical expertise comes through quite efficiently, and i love the special attention shown to draw our attention to dick’s escrima in the bottom right corner.

also that move in the middle row leftmost panel that’s the mcu black widow move to get up off the ground it was the first thing i noticed and it made me laugh; thought it was worth noting

i’m really loving dick’s escrima sticks in this run. they’re just so multipurpose, it’s hilarious and exhilarating. kinda reminds me of bruce’s belt, the way the button in the middle does eevveeerrryyytthhiinngg. 

got a problem? don’t worry! dick’s installed a feature into his escrima that can fix that! (i like thinking dick helped make them it makes me happy and makes my engineer!dick side satisfied)

yawn. your big heart is your one true weakness yadda yadda the fact that you care will be used against you blah blah we get it. jesus can the villains please find a different weakness to exploit, this is getting old.

i need dick’s capacity to empathize and care and love to stop being a weakness that villains sneer about. bonus points if dick saves everyone anyway, either because of or despite his great big heart and the villain is surprised by the goodness of mankind or some shit like that.

i need it to be a strength, right from the get-go. the fact that he cares so incredibly much should be an asset that dick has and will use. he’s a very complex character with years of background, it can’t possibly be that hard to find another weakness of his. 

ooooh this is cool, gosh i absolutely love this.

because what exactly is the reader doing? we are seeing the fear in dick’s face, just as this villain intended. even better, we’re seeing the reflection of it from the villain’s glossy mask, telling us exactly what we’re seeing and exactly what he likes so much about it.

dick’s standing up straight, shoulders drawn back, looking up at this villain’s face with determination and resolve, but his suit is tattered. one eye looks to be swollen. his hair is falling limply around his eyes, as opposed to the curls from earlier. his escrima aren’t even part of the main focus, instead blending into the side of the mask in the outer corners of the mask’s eyes, which tells you exactly how big of a threat they are to this villain.

poor bitewing’s quite alarmed.

also on second thought why would you bring your puppy out like this, when you know you’re gonna end up fighting someone in the suit. a) how many grey three-legged adorable little puppies live in the bludhaven area dick? and how easy will it be to connect the doggo running around with nightwing with the doggo that dick grayson owns? and 2) is this puppers trained? does she have fighting experience? how exactly can you ensure she will survive this highly stressful situation?

dick take better care of your dog 

you know what? i was with tim on this one. why exactly is dick so optimistic and trusting about the people of bludhaven? bludhaven, which has been described as gotham’s smaller, smellier, more corrupt sister city once or twice. it’s not just the corrupt people in power, the entire system needs to change and people need to have faith and hope in order for them to come together, espcially if they’ve been living in conditions like how bludhaven has been described. from how clueless dick is about his own goddamn city, i can tell he hasn’t been here long.

it was a nice moment of hope, i’ll admit. but it was a tad unrealistic for me.

also it was in a weird place in the comic. this sort of confrontation and big get-together of the people to rejuvenate hope in each other feels like it should come near the end of a run, if not the end of an issue. certainly not in the first third of an issue. the pacing’s a bit off to me.

loyal little puppy patiently waiting for her human to wake up. i love her so much.

no it’s not. it’s bitewing.

living for this t-shirt honestly. do comics of dc characters exist in the dc universe? they must if the mug and the shirt are any indication

(now i’m imagining the first batman movie that came out in the dc universe and bruce just. being so offended at who they chose to play him.)

well, yes. but when a group of people are put through hellish conditions over and over again, they soon become desensitized to the pain and terror of their everyday lives in order to both stay sane and keep their life relatively stable, and part of that becomes ignoring or blocking out anything that isn’t directly important to you or your loved ones. having a bleeding heart will most likely get you killed in a city like bludhaven if you don’t have the same skills that vigilantes have.

and of course, people are more than capable of coming together and rallying under their city’s vigilante after seeing the good they’ve done and how they’ve helped the people, but that sort of trust takes time and effort to build. dick also had the whole ric arc and was gone for a while, which has been referenced several times in this particular issue in fact. that’s not going to make bludhaven’s citizens any more likely to trust him.

maybe i’m being a bit harsh but this comic is comic off as a bit too idealistic for the amount of change nightwing can do in a city given the present and past circumstances as well as nightwing’s own abilities. even dick grayson can’t pull off everything.

ok seriously this needs to stop this needs to stop.

right now, dick reminds me of oliver queen in the few episodes of the cw’s arrow i watched. he does the punchy-kicky-fighty and occasionally has smart insights due to the skills he gained from his past that he certainly definitely totally has but only ever exhibits once, while his team does all of the background research and information gathering and actual work.

this is dick’s city. if he has the same intelligence, worth ethic, and stubbornness in this run that he’s been shown to possess all his life, then he knows this city inside out. he’ll have meticulous notes organized in a ridiculously efficient system, he’ll have scouted out zucco long before this started, he’ll have known when anything big happened in the bludhaven political landscape in an instant.

i’m really not liking exactly how much dick’s relying on babs and tim in this series. sure, he loves them and cares for them and likes working cases with them. but he always pulls his own weight, has always been a mentor figure to tim instead of what’s weirdly becoming the other way around, and takes point on the cases in his own damn city.

what kind of weak-ass oracle is this?? redacted fbi files are child’s play. babs used to hack into the fbi for fun. this one particular picture is so out of character i want to laugh.

reading this series has unfortunately made me confront that, despite the tiny fluid acrobat dick that lives in my head 24/7, canon dick is impossibly 5′10 and muscular at that.

mmm. titties.

tim said hydrate or die-drate bitch

love how dick’s doing all this intense brooding and stuff meanwhile bitewing is curled up in a soft comfy post having the time of her life.

you don’t understand i would legitimately kill myself for her.

also the lighting in this one scene is cool. the blue tones come off so well.

they’re just. so multipurpose!! they can become a bo staff. they can cut glass. they can become a grapple hook/line. they can electrify someone. they’re a funky colour. i’m becoming really attached to these things. absolute solid choice in weaponry.

if you’re gonna write up every rookie mistake dick has made during this series to head trauma, then dick shouldn’t be out and about at all, much less in costume.

see this? this is just straight up wrong. dick most definitely should have spotted her, and would have immediately moved to take her down.

scratch that, dick would have done a full check of the building, because he knows not to break into places uninformed, especially if the owner of the apartment was raised by the maroni family. someone as highly trained, experienced, and competent as dick wouldn’t have done this.

and if you chalk it up to head injury, (which is probably true), than his ~love interest~ and his little brother should have done a much better job making sure he stays in his house.

zucco looks so awkward it’s fucking hilarious

are those shadows that mimic a domino mask, to both reflect and hide the fact that his mask is missing? are those bruises around his eyes, to show how, despite what good he’s doing, being nightwing is hurting dick right now? 

(isn’t his domino mask supposed to have an electrifying feature that keeps people from removing them?)

it’s a little odd how the three known villains of this series are all coloured in warm shades, more specifically pink. meanwhile, in earlier issues, dick’s fondest memories were in pink, memories of him and alfred in particular. why has the colour pink changed from signifying something benevolent to something malicious? idk i hope this gets explained later.

this i did like. either it’s just a display of brute force in anger, or dick slipped the ties and pulled them off once untied. both ways, it’s an unintentional display of power, and i think that’s kinda cool.

again. dick is,,,tall? sort of? weirdddd

i’m so glad most readers are unified in the notion that this was the absolute dumbest fucking thing.

i’m hoping this gets disproved or something soon. and i hope dick doesn’t fall for it, because he definitely knows better than to take something as important as this at face value.

what exactly is taylor trying to accomplish here? why is he trying to go back on what we all knew was a happy, loving childhood and throw strife and disharmony and (what i’m assuming will be) infidelity? this will not end well at all.

---

,,,,,this review got way longer than expected lol. and i realize most of it just became me ranting. i guess i didn’t realize how ticked off i was originally. fingers crossed it gets better.

tag list: @woahjaybird @birdy-bat-writes @anothertimdrakestan @subtleappreciation @screennamealreadyused @bikoncon @pricetagofficial @catxsnow @thatsthewhump @xatanna-troy @red-hood-redemption @capricorn-stark @batshit-birds​ @comics-observer

[eberles]

On The Course

Rafe Cameron

if this gif is yours, lmk and i’ll tag you!

A/N: this is the longest thing i’ve ever written coming in at 3.8K!! it’s set the summer AFTER the show so like a year later basically and rafe isn’t a murderer obv, it’s also loosely based on A Cinderella Story - the one with Hilary Duff, okay enjoy :)

Warnings: mentions of parent death, brief mention of toxic living environments, swearing, lots of dialogue (idk if that needs a warning but)

You never had many friends growing up, or any really. Except JJ, he was always there for you, your very best friend and even though he offered all the time for you to hangout with the other pogues, you always declined. Of course, you went to school with them and had classes together and sure they were nice, but you never actually felt welcome. JJ was the first friend you made when you moved to the Outer Banks after your parents died. It’s been 4 years since then and living with your ugly aunt and her horrible twin daughters was the last thing you ever wanted for yourself. The only upside of moving to Outer Banks all those years ago was meeting JJ.

Everyone assumed you were dating and both of you had considered the fact, but quickly decided that it wasn’t meant to be for the two of you. JJ liked to be a playboy and he wasn’t really your type anyways. for years you watched him get with girl after girl while you sat idly by watching and looking out for him, never having a guy of your own to trot around with. You never minded it though, being by yourself gave you a sense of comfort and with your current living situations, your cousins made it difficult for you to have many friends or otherwise anyways. JJ always made you feel better about it though and assured you that you didn’t need a man to be happy because of how independent you were and how ‘one day you’re gonna get out of here and meet the guy of dreams, the one that lives up to your standards.” You would always shake your head and roll your eyes at him when he said that, but he believed it. At least the getting out of here part. JJ knew from the moment he met you 4 years ago that you weren’t destined to be on a little island like Outer Banks and you had bigger things coming to you. For now, this was home and you were making the best of it.

“JJ, please talk to your boss. I need a job, I have to get out of my house this summer.” you begged JJ one sunny afternoon, knowing that school was ending in a few days.

“Y/N, you’re gonna hate it. Trust me, you don’t wanna serve a bunch of rich pricks.” JJ sighed, looking over at you briefly and noticing you had your best puppy dog look plastered onto your face, the one you always knew got him to cave. “Fucking fine, i’ll talk to him.”

A few days passed and you were finally done with school. This was your last summer before heading off to college and as much as you didn’t want to spend it working, you knew your aunt had no intention of giving you any money for college. So here you were, serving your first day as a cart girl at the most prestigious country club on Figure 8. The course was fairly slow today and you had a small training session for the first few hours of your shift, but it wasn’t all that hard. Drive around, serve drinks, get tipped. As you were riding around on your little golf cart you noticed none other than Rafe Cameron flagging you down.

“Hi, what can I get for you?” you refrained from immediately rolling your eyes at him and forcing a smile onto your face as you climbed out of your cart.

“I’ll just get a beer, thanks.” he pointed to his beer of choice and watched as you poured the beverage slowly into the plastic cup. “I haven’t seen you around here before.”

“That’s because I just started.” you stated pointedly, handing Rafe the drink and giving him a small smile. “Can i get you anything else?”

“Do you know how to golf?” Rafe was speaking before he could stop himself and you were taken aback by his question, let alone his politeness towards you. You’d never actually come in contact with the boy in front of you, but you’d heard horror stories from JJ surrounding the summer before. You shook your head no, not moving back to your cart just yet curious to where this was heading. “Do you wanna give it a shot? I can teach you.”

You knew you shouldn’t, JJ would scold you up and down for it, after previously warning you Rafe was an often golfer and that you’d probably see him quite a bit, but this wasn’t the Rafe you were expecting. Not after JJ’s multiple stories of Rafe beating him and the other pogues up and constantly giving them a hard time. However, you couldn’t stop yourself from agreeing to Rafe’s offer. Moving closer to him and grabbing the club from him you did exactly what you’d seen in the movies: knees spread, club down, aimed at the small golf ball and raising your arms back only for them to swing the club right into the dirt.

“Damn, you weren’t lying.” Rafe chuckled, taking a spot behind you making sure it was okay that he helped you first. Rafe was a good 6 inches taller than you, but when he came up you could still feel his breath hitting your ear causing your heart to beat out of your chest and goosebumps to erupt all over. He wrapped his arms around yours, placing his hands over yours adjusting your grip on the club. “Ready? One...two...three.”

“Oh- oh my god! I did it! Well you did it, but I did it!” you turned around in Rafe’s grasp jumping up excitedly after watching the ball move this time. Before Rafe could react, realization hit you that you were at work and not making a very good first impression. “I have to go, I'm sorry.”

You ran back towards your golf cart, jumping in and driving off checking in on the other golfers. Rafe had a big smile on his face watching the cute new girl drive off. He felt a sense of home building in his chest after your small interaction and he wasn’t sure what was going on. No girl had ever affected him the way you did and he didn’t even know your name. Yet.

“Dude, what’s got you blushing?” Topper asked, joining him on the course and snapping Rafe out of his thoughts about you.

“Have you seen the new cart girl?”

“Yea she’s cute but she’s a pogue.” Topper stated and Rafe looked at him skeptically not wanting to believe the words. Rafe was almost positive he’d never seen you around before and definitely not with the other pogues. Granted, the way everything happened last summer he never saw the pogues anymore, choosing the high road and turning himself into a better man so he could eventually leave Figure 8 on his own.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“Y/N!” you turned around hearing JJ calling your name. You just entered the cut after having to walk home from your first shift at the country club. “I’ve been texting you for hours.”

“Oh sorry JJ, my shitty phone died.” you shrugged letting JJ catch up with you before continuing your walk home.

“How was your first day?” you knew JJ would ask, but you hadn’t quite figured out what you were planning on telling him. Do you bring up your weird but pleasant interaction with Rafe?

“It was good! It was a pretty slow day, perfect for learning.” JJ hummed in response, looking at you quizzically not fully believing you didn’t have anything more to say. You decided to keep it short, not looking forward to JJ mocking your newfound connection with his enemy. You felt bad enough about it without having him breathing down your neck. JJ walked you home, the two of you making small talk for the rest of the short distance to your house.

“Charge your phone, how else will I annoy you?” you rolled eyes, laughing at what JJ said, pushing on his chest.

“Goodbye JJ, Y/N has things to do.” your aunt spoke, catching you off guard as you were saying bye to JJ outside your house. JJ gave you a sympathetic look before walking off, never wanting to leave you alone with them. “Y/N, I’m going out of town tomorrow. I’ll be leaving you this list to work on while I'm gone. I expect everything to be finished. You will go to work, come home and work some more. Zero play time and in the house everyday by 6 pm, missy.”

“Okay but there’s this one event the country club is having and it’s a night shift for me.” you followed your aunt around the small house, hoping she would let you out of the house for Midsummers knowing the tips would be great.

“Well that’s not going to work, now is it?” she huffed, shoving the 7 page list into your hands and storming off, her heels clicking with every step. “One page for everyday, don’t miss anything.”

The next day your aunt left just like she planned to, her twin daughters staying behind to ‘keep an eye on you’ but really, they were just going to annoy you the whole time. The only thing you could really look forward to anymore was going to work and hoping the customers were nicer than your cousins.

“Y/N, we’re coming with you today!” the twins spoke at the same time with fake chipper voices.

“Great.” you deadpanned, turning away from them and making your way towards their shared car and climbing in the back seat. The drive was short and they talked the whole way there so you practically jumped out before the car stopped moving noticing your arrival. You were feeling giddy to be at work today secretly hoping you would see a certain kook boy again. You didn’t know much about him, only the awful things JJ had spoken about him briefly but didn’t see that side of him only enticing you to know more.

After a few hours driving around the course serving drinks to mostly middle aged white men you finally noticed Rafe with a few of his friends. You wanted to talk to him again, but having his friends around made you unsure about the situation so you decided to play it cool.

“Did you guys want drinks?” you stopped on the path behind them before getting off the cart and making your way to them.

“Rafe, is this your cute cart girl from yesterday?” Topper laughed, hitting Rafe’s back pushing him towards you and you noticed a blushing Rafe shoot a quick glare in his direction.

“Hey, how’s your second day going?” Rafe moved closer to you and the cart hoping to get out of ear shot from Topper and Kelce.

“It’s been good, lots of older men come around here I’ve noticed.” you laughed handing Rafe the same drink as yesterday since you remembered the specific beer he wanted. “It makes for good tips though so I can't complain.”

“Yea these guys might be old but they’re rich as fuck.” Rafe sipped his beer, smiling at you and apologizing for his friends being stupid behind him. “Hey so I never got your name-”

“Hey Y/N!” you turned, hearing your name being called and saw JJ running towards you. You mentally cursed because of course this was the one time he would ever step foot on the course to look for you. Rafe looked at you confused even though Topper previously told him you were technically a pogue yourself. “Y/N, your cousins are inside and they’re driving me crazy. I needed a break. What’s going on here?”

“Oh JJ, I’m sorry about them, they insisted on being here for my whole shift.” you ignored JJ’s last question, putting all the attention on your cousins, hoping it would deflect from you and Rafe chatting.

“You okay?” JJ asked in a hushed tone, glaring at Rafe and you laughed nodding your head yes. “Okay I guess I’ll go back inside then. Be careful.”

“So your name’s Y/N?” Rafe stood back a few feet while you had your short conversation with JJ and returned to your side once JJ started walking away. “I’m assuming since you know Maybank that you already know who I am.”

“Well I know of you, but if we keep meeting like this maybe i’ll be able to find out more.” you were feeling brave all of a sudden, hoping putting yourself out there would get your somewhere with Rafe. Everything felt natural with him, and you didn’t want to let that feeling escape you by ruining it.

“Why don’t you give me your number and then it won’t have to be exclusive to only here?” Rafe smirked, pulling his phone out and placing it in your hands. You laughed, typing your phone number in quickly and returning it back to him.

“I should really get back to work, Rafe but I’ll see you around yea?” you climbed back into your golf cart as Rafe smiled and waved bye to you.

The next few days passed and you hadn’t seen Rafe at the club, but you had been texting quite a bit. Just in a few days of talking you felt like you were already learning so much about him and his life. He told you everything from who his friends are to how overbearing and controlling his father was. He explained that he went to college at Chapel Hill for a year before dropping out and his father never forgave him. You shared your deepest feelings with him about your parents deaths and how your aunt and cousins were Satan's children. You told him you couldn’t wait to get out of Outer Banks and go off to college at the end of the summer. He understood you and you meshed together so well just after a few days.

i haven’t told my dad, but after getting my shit together this past year i started applying to schools. my first choice is princeton.

princeton?! rafe, no way! that’s where i’m hoping to go.

You couldn’t deny the fast connection you felt with rafe, everything in your body was telling you that you belonged together. Rafe told you he was looking forward to seeing you at the Midsummers event tonight, but you had to break the devastating news that there was no way you could go.

curfew is 6 pm cameron, get with it😂

jesus, i’m sorry i didn’t know you were 7

You laughed at the text on your phone when a tapping noise on your window startled you. You dragged yourself out of bed to see JJ standing on the ground below you.

“JJ, what are you doing?!” you whispered after opening the window and sticking your head out.

“I'm coming up!” JJ whispered back, scaling the side of your house next to your bedroom window. Lucky for him there was a small rock wall giving him the perfect entrance. “I'm breaking you out, you’re coming to Midsummers.”

“JJ, I can't! They’ll kill me if I leave!” JJ gave you a look as if to say ‘stop being a baby.’ It only took a few more seconds of convincing from JJ for you to agree. He successfully helped you out your window and down the rock wall without your cousins noticing you had left for the night. JJ borrowed John B's van and left it parked a few houses down so the twins wouldn’t be suspicious.

“Thanks for this, JJ. You’re the best.” you smiled wide, feeling free for the first time in a while. It was nice getting out of the house while it was dark out.

“As much as I want to take credit, I can’t. This was Rafe’s idea.” you looked at JJ with wide eyes, completely caught off guard.

“What?!” you all but screamed, not sure why JJ would ever talk to Rafe about you. Especially since you hadn’t even told JJ that you and Rafe were talking almost constantly.

“I’ll try to forgive you for not mentioning your budding relationship, but yea. Rafe came to me and apologized for everything last summer and although I don’t forgive him. He does talk pretty highly about you and I can't deny that.” JJ explained and you couldn’t have been more proud to call him your best friend in these moments.

Once you arrived, JJ snuck you in the back and you couldn’t help but take a peek out and notice Rafe standing by the bar dressed in a navy colored suit with his dad who looked like he was scolding him for something. He looked good, really good. JJ pulled you into the locker room handing you a uniform with a white shirt and a black vest to put over it and informing you that you were on drink serving duty. You made your rounds looking over at Rafe every so often wanting nothing more than to approach him. You noticed Rafe's dad pulling him away from the crowd with a yank to his collar and watching as he stood in front of him yelling and pointing a finger in his face. Your feet were moving before your brain could process it and before you knew it you were in front of the two.

“Hi, can I get you guys anything to drink?” you put the sweetest smile on your face, hoping it wouldn’t be obvious that you were trying to distract Rafe’s dad. Ward cleared his throat before looking at you and ordering a whiskey on the rocks with a fake smile on his face. Rafe took the opportunity to make a break for it while you wrote down his fathers drink, exactly what you hoped would happen. After returning to Ward with his drink you went looking for Rafe only to find him back inside the club.

“Oh look who it is, my savior.” Rafe teased, watching you approach him before pulling out a chair for you to sit next to him. “Thanks for that by the way, you didn’t have to.”

“Of course I did, I understand family issues all too well, Cameron.” you laughed, taking the seat beside him.

“I’m surprised to see you here, so much for that curfew huh?” Rafe smirked, eyeing you from across the table.

“Funny enough, JJ came up with this super smart plan to sneak me out. Usually he’s not that on top of it, but I guess something changed.” you joked and reached for Rafe’s hand across the table. “Thank you for talking to him, you have no idea how much it means to me.”

“I know it sounds weird, but I think I would do anything for you.” Rafe blushed, squeezing your hand in his and putting his head down to hide the pink tint on his cheeks. You pulled your hand from his and reached up to lift his face to look at your before moving in closer to him. Your lips brushed his softly before he pulled you closer by your waist and your lips molded to each other and you melted into your first kiss with Rafe.

“Uh, sorry to interrupt but Y/N your aunts outside.” you pulled away from Rafe hearing JJ’s voice and you couldn’t believe what you heard. You looked between the boys with a horrified expression on your face and walked passed JJ outside to where your aunt and cousins were standing and causing a scene.

“Where the hell is she?!” you frowned, running up to them, hoping you could get her to leave without losing your job.

“There you are! You ungrateful piece of trash! How dare you sneak out with this scum of a boy!?” with each word your ugly aunt used her finger to push on her chest and you felt the anger bubbling up inside of you.

“Don’t touch me! And don’t talk about him like that. I’m 18 now, you can’t tell me what to do anymore!” you pushed her hand away, yelling back in her face with JJ and Rafe watching you from a few feet away, everyone else at the party enjoying the show.

“I sure as hell can if you’re living under MY roof!” you could hear your cousins laughing from behind her and that only fueled more anger in you.

“Don’t worry about me, because I'm moving out.” you finally had it, you couldn’t take dealing with her for another second longer. Unbeknownst to you, Rafe and JJ were sharing knowing looks at each other as the scene unfolded in front of them.

“And where do you think you’re gonna go?”

“With us!” JJ spoke up, and you felt him take a place at your side with Rafe following his actions on your other side.

“Good luck with that. They’ll be tired of you soon enough, don’t come crawling back.” your aunt scoffed, rolling her eyes at the two boys and retreating back to her SUV, “Girls! Here! Now!”

You felt tears start to roll down your cheeks and you laughed feeling both the boys wrap their arms around you. “Everything’s gonna be okay now, y/n.”

“Jeez, I don’t know what to say. Thank you guys for being here.” The rest of the party goers were clapping at you standing up for yourself and finally being free of her even though they didn’t know you or your situation.

“You don’t have to thank us, Y/N.” Rafe smiled as you pulled him into a tight hug feeling safe as his arms wrapped around you.

••epilogue••

Summer was officially over and you were sad to be moving on, but you could easily say this was the best summer of your entire life. After the screaming match with your aunt you moved in with JJ and John B and yes it was tough adjusting to living with boys but it was amazing. You were finally getting close with the other pogues Rafe’s sister Sarah and you just wish you hadn’t waited 4 years for it to happen.

Rafe did some digging with a private investigator and found a savings account in your name for your full college tuition that your aunt had been hiding from you. Everything was falling into place for you and speaking of Rafe: you guys were officially dating and going two months strong. You felt the happiest you ever had in your entire life and he was partly to thank for that.

You wound up going to Princeton together and lived happily ever after. At least for now. Hey, you’re only a freshman.

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

[couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name]

PLEASE post your deh dream concepts

thank you for enabling me queen

OKAY first of all, I think it would have worked better as a straight play instead of a musical! there are moments, like 'sincerely, me' for example, where the singing just cheapens the moment. like, that song is a fun little bop! that they're...singing about fabricating a dead child's emails in order to lie to his family? lmfao it just Doesn't sit right imo. don't worry, I'm gonna work Ben Platt singing into it tho, just hang on.

Second- there was a show Daniel Radcliffe did on broadway about social media privacy a few years ago, and I remember it was interactive, the audience all logged onto a specific wifi network and used their phones during the show, it was cool! Dear Evan Hansen like....Tries to involve social media commentary but it just kinda gives up on it. like, they flash some fake profiles with a projector, and briefly shows Alana dramatizing what Evan told her online, but that's pretty much it??? I think it would have been super cool and unique to work the audience into the story like that. like...when I was in high school our school had a specific facebook page where people could anonymously compliment other students? and I know other schools have had similar things like that. they could set up a site that's supposed to be the school's media along those lines, and have the audience post on it (regarding the events of the plot) and have it read out during the show. maybe it'll even effect the climax if we wanna get fancy- some audiences might be more sympathetic to Evan while others want him to have harsher consequences! who knows! I just feel like the musical really dropped this whole 'how can we Connect' message it was going for and it'd be really cool to see it used better

Third- okay so. the letter writing thing. like, that IS an actual therapy thing but it's a bit...weird? I feel like most therapists recommend journaling over that also it feels kinda mean lmao 'no one will talk to me all day so I have to write to myself' ksjddklf. and Evan doesn't really...have much of a personality? like, he has an anxiety disorder, he's ashamed of his home life, he likes trees. that's kinda...it? like despite going on a complex arc he's not a very fleshed out character, it's weird. and since ben platt legally has to sing- I propose Evan likes song writing. it's something that's a little more relatable than the tree thing, and it also just adds to him lol. his 'I Need To Escape This Town' energy = he wants to be a musician. it'll show he's good with words when writing them down- which helps him fabricate the emails with Connor. Zoe's in band, so it gives the two of them something to bond over that doesn't involve Connor. maybe the letter itself was a weirdly formatted song he was working on, or maybe the therapist thought he'd like the letter thing bc of songwriting- but we can see it progress trough the show, like Alana wants him to write and perform a song about Connor and the Murphy's think that'll be so sweet! or maybe when he finally fesses up he writes a song about the whole mess and posts it online or something to that effect. I just think it'd be nice.

(also hi literally why is his therapist not a character??? feel like that's someone who might have a lot to say about the situation lmfao)

Four- focus more on Evan's suicidal thoughts??? omg like the big reveal they had was good but it was never like. revealed to anyone around him and overall just kinda passed over in the grand scheme of the plot like. bro. the show is supposed to be about this kid's mental health

I think...straight play, social media interactive, and then Evan's secret DOES get exposed- whether by people finding holes, the murphy's exposing him, or Evan cracking by himself, something like that. the 'one year later' part at the end, Evan posts a video explaining his side of the story and sings a song dedicated to Connor (maybe a little you will be found rework?). those are my biggest ideas anyway. the show holds a powerful story but I just feel like tweaking it would make it so much better idk

[daz4i]

top 10 favorite fanfic tropes!!!!!

mwah thank you!!!!! <3

tbh some of these obviously exist in like, official media, but i’m gonna treat it as like. what i enjoy to read the most in fics. or like they’re not exactly tropes as is but can be used as such?? i think you get me. also other than the top 5 the order doesn’t matter much tbh. ok now that we’re all on the same page there we go 

10. ok i have to include it even tho it’s fandom specific. palace fics lol. at this point they’re one of the only plot things i even try to read. i just think that the structure of it is a really good way to open people’s creativity and that it’s nice to explore characters in various ways with them it’s so cool

9. ppl are gonna laugh at me for that but i fucking love fics that take characters from extreme universes or situations and puts them through the most mundane shit ever. ig it’s just modern aus in a way?? but yeah i love them they’re always so funny BUT ALSO WHEN THEY’RE NOT THEY SOMEHOW HIT SO MUCH HARDER

8. demon/angel aus. together (tho i’m also a big fan of demon x human stuff). bc it’s me how can i not include it. i think it’s very sexy when angels and demons fall in love and having to question both their place in the universe and their morals for love i think it’s very sexy. also special interest go brrrr. unfortunately i haven’t read that many good fics with that au but i do tend to write at least one for each fandom i’m in bc it’s very dear to me and i love everything you can do with it 

7. any au of like. workers in the stores across the street from each other. like the classic is flower shop/tattoo parlor which is SO good but honestly any sort of shop works. they’re just so fun and chill and i love them idk. ig this is an extent of modern aus but shhhhh

6. whump. what can i say. i love suffering

5. canon divergence but like, in a butterfly effect way. like a character makes a very small decision different from canon and it changes the whole story completely (have to rec it’s just a light rain (but a storm's still comin') as an excellent example for that if you like p5)

4. soulmate aus 🥰 idk why but i’m really really attached to those even if irl it sounds awful and painful. i like to joke that my brain is a soulmate au machine bc it really is. give me any word i’ll turn it into a soulmate au guaranteed

3. chatfics and other online based stuff!!!!!! they’re so fun and i love when people go the extra mile to make their fic look like the app(s) it’s happening on it’s literally so cool. chatfics are so fun as is and are mostly used for crack stuff, yes, but i also genuinely think it’s a very unique way to tell a story when done correctly and i’ve read some fics that were mostly texting based in a way that really stuck with me (one example off the top of my head is all the king’s men that i really rec if you like fe3h)

2. it’d be first but unfortunately the main problem is it can’t work with every ship. like ig you can technically apply it to every ship but it doesn’t hit as hard as ships that fit it. anyway i love murder couples so so much. couples who kill together. couples where one kills and the other gets them their victims or helps them clear the evidence and give them an alibi. couples who torture people together and these are date nights. you can’t go wrong there tbh (but again it usually works with ships where like, one person already kills people in canon for example)

1. fake dating. no doubt no doubt. it’s so versatile and it’s always just GOOD no matter what. it leads to actually valid forms of miscommunication or misunderstandings and i think that’s very cool. why is it the first you may ask? well let me tell you about a special little ship that’s been haunting me since like 2014-2015 called kurotsuki. i’m not actually gonna get into it i’ll just say some of the most popular fics abt it are fake dating and this made me very much fall in love with that trope big time. it’s also just good ol human relationships-based conflict that can work in literally any setting for a variety of different reasons. like i said it’s just GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! can’t top it. very hard to mess it up bc the more convoluted and messy your story is the better it gets. it’s the perfect trope

send some top 5/top 10 asks?

[anchormain]

I know we've already discussed it a lil bit but "plots please", pre-established or brand new!

        i did some ideas for bianca, arianna and lenka! i read through your info pages so i’m using some of the suggestions on there and also from our conversation to bounce off of. pls feel free to take any and all of these if you like them and just run with it!

BIANCA

ok so case ideas:

        bianca as a victim of theft - maybe she had something stolen? morse is gonna turn up to look around and ask questions. he might have some theories about connections to other crimes and he might get shut down by his superiors about that, so he might be sulky the entire time. depending on how bianca feels about morse’s theories, she could either make him more sulky or give him hope. he’ll solve the case either way, but he’s a package deal with his attitude.

        OR another case: a series of murders replicating art pieces, so they need to know if a given murder resembles an art piece, and if there are connections between the pieces being replicated. time to call in an expert? or maybe morse consults her despite being told not to and that there is no connection. he asks for her secret help. he probably gets taken off the investigation bc mr bright hates his theories, but he’s gonna keep investigating anyway. secret team? idk how she’d feel about working with a sneaky detective behind his superiors’ back but morse would probably trust her. 

or party ideas:

        main verse morse at a party working to keep an eye on some shady individual. he’s capable of doing undercover fairly well but also he’s awkward and i get the vibe that she’s gonna be able to tell he’s out of place and this isn’t his natural environment. if she does figure out what he’s doing there, she could either help or hinder him. 

        OR they already know each other ( maybe via the art route ) and she got him INTO the party to keep an eye on some shady individual. perhaps she’s part of the cover or perhaps he has to pretend he doesn’t know her. idk how difficult she’d make that, but it could be fun bc morse is awkward af and would find that very difficult. 

        OR OR they already know each other but morse got in some other way and is undercover so he needs to pretend he doesn’t know her again, but this time it’s a shock to see her there, so it’s EVEN HARDER for him to pretend he doesn’t recognise her so he doesn’t blow his cover. maybe she’s confused about his behaviour or why he’s there?

        or i have another verse that would work for a party setting and could be very very fun:

        poet verse morse is probably at these parties to get drunk, he would’ve been taken there by bixby or one of his other rich friends. he might wander around wherever the party is held ( a nice expensive house maybe? ) and point out that a piece of art on the wall is fake ( he has done this before ). he’s rude by accident sometimes. poet morse might a) catch immediate feelings for someone at the party, or b) start an argument with someone at the party. perhaps either of these could be bianca, or it could be a shady individual and he’s being too much of a disaster to realise, as usual, and needs some help with whatever situation that gets him into. morse has been known to accidentally fall in love with a murderer on more than one occasion. 

ARIANNA

        arianna as an informant: maybe she offers info on someone but then that person a) doesn’t get arrested and b) finds out she informed on them, so morse gets to play bodyguard for a while? until the person gets arrested? he’s done bodyguard work before and he might be a little sulky about it. unless he’s the one who’s been working with her to get this information in which case he’s gonna feel extremely guilty and protective of her and would literally die for her if it came to it. if the whole case has had nothing to do with him then he’ll just be sulky about being put on ‘babysitting duty’. but he’d still put himself between her and danger. maybe nothing happens and they spend an uneventful night. or maybe we make some danger happen. either works.

        if she enjoys opera, they could meet at an opera record sale, or at the opera, or at a concert, or maybe even morse’s choir group if she was interested in listening to that kind of thing? 

        alternatively, morse could easily find himself in peril and come knocking at her door. he’s a disaster idiot and frequently gets injured and pursues suspects alone so if he needs to run away from a murderer, he might find himself knocking at the closest door. he radiates ‘i need taking care of’ vibes so that might help his case. especially in his earlier seasons bc he just wants to do a good job! and impress inspector thursday! he might be a lil upset to have been injured. also, he has a phobia of blood, so… he might faint. and need some help cleaning that injury up. 

LENKA

        bar setting - thursday takes morse into a pub for lunch pretty often during the work day, except morse doesn’t often eat lunch, he just has a drink. so if she worked at the bar there, she might see him fairly regularly, although he always tries to avoid buying his round of drinks bc he doesn’t have a lot of money, so it might be rare that he actually comes to the bar himself during the day.

        however, she also might encounter him there after work. he might’ve been dragged there for a pub quiz or a few drinks after a long day by his colleagues, but he might’ve gone alone, too. life essentially just batters him with trauma for a while, and he might deal with this by going to a bar. he probably won’t actually tell her anything of note, he’s just gonna radiate massive sad vibes for a while. 

        depending on when in his timeline, he might be there significantly more often. idk at what point she’d become concerned, but morse is an alcoholic, and there are times when it’s very very obvious and very bad. he actually might be more likely to talk about it to a bar worker than to someone he knows well. he’s scared of being vulnerable with people who care about him.

        party setting again - poet verse morse also might be crying in the bathroom of a party or have wandered off away from the main crowd. he’s cute and would be up for trying to awkwardly flirt. he lives with bixby ( a rich guy who hosts a lot of parties ) so he knows the house and might take her on a dumb drunk adventure exploring all the guest bedrooms. idk, he’d find that fun. he’s an idiot but he’s sweet.