#HAVE RANTING MONOLOGUES COMPLETELY OUT OF NOWHERE

[rukafais]

I think one of the funniest things about the prequel trilogy to Generations gap is that like Drizzt is like WOAGHG.....ZAK IS SO COOL....MY DAD WAS A MORALLY PERFECT PERSON WITHOUT A SINGLE FLAW....because he is a small child who is prone to black and white thinking and also coping with the trauma of his death

and then you actually get like, what everyone thinks about Zak in Generations back in the day and it turns out most people thought he was a deeply annoying asshole because he was, in fact, a deeply annoying asshole who happened to be really good at swords to the point that he was actively muzzled at the academy because he was embarrassing the higher-born students. Like two people liked him and that was Despite Everything. He just kind of was a dipshit that sucked. Love that.

[laughingwith-bluelips]

I finally got why I love so much the "dragons are gone" ending in the books while I hate it in the movies:

The books set the dragons free.

The movies simply sent them away.

That's basically the idea but I had a vision yesterday at 3am so I will be getting into detail below the cut.

The books have a very strong message about slavery. Some would say that it is a concept that is only important within the context of the last five or four books, but the ones that have been paying attention to the saga as a whole knows that there are things happening in the background. You know, stuff like

People eating dragons

People stealing dragons from their families so

The dragons can serve the vikings

And they're expected to obey because

People threaten to turn them into bags.

That's mostly the first book.

Dragons are constantly showed as unsatisfied with the status quo trough out the books, some more annoyed with the vikings than others. We have complete monologues from different dragons before the war is even a possibility. Sincerely, when it happens, it feels natural.

The idea of freeing the dragons is not one that comes up in the last book, not even close. The first time it is considered an option is in book 9 (I think), and, by the time being, we've already stablish lots of concepts as slavery within human beings, the dangers of a war, how this could lead to the end of all and freeing the dragons is the only option.

It is fatalist to say the least, but it's not going out of nowhere. There is a lot of worldbuilding (more on that later), but it is also the right thing to do. By the time Hiccup is presenting the option, Cowell has made us root for the dragons to be free and wild and do whatever they want, even if what they want is to hide under sea for thousands of years. Or if they don't want, or if the want to but just not in that moment, they can do it.

Oh, yes, because they leave GRADUALLY.

It is a sad ending, but still manages to get as satisfactory because, yet again, we know this happens and the books remind us this will happen eventually every time they can. “There were dragons when I was a boy” is literally the first phrase in the saga.

And then we got the movies.

The movies never followed the books. Like, not very much. The writers decided that they wanted to tell a story of a broken relationship between a father and a son while using dragons, the heroic and prophetic aspects of the books were getting on the way of that and they scrapped the idea. So, no, you can't tell me the movies actually follow the books.

However, if you're very technical, you know the Hiccup we see in the movies resembles Hiccup I, the one that stopped the war between vikings and dragons in the books, stablishing an equal relation between the two races. And this idea of the movies being a prequel can work for the second and specially the first movie, disregarding the fact that there are no prophetic or magical elements at all.

But THW exist and... Exist.

Suddenly the writers and producers decide that they want to follow the books and want to get rid of the dragons, something that is completely against the message of the other two movies.

(I am just talking about the movies, the shows-books relationship is very different and I will someday make a post ranting about it)

The movies do NOT talk about the dangers of dragons being with vikings or how the vikings mistreat the dragons or how bad is slavery or anything like that. The second movie does, yes, but the second movie also sends a message about how people benefit of being with dragons. They have their dragons and they're strong because of that friendship. Being at war with one another only brings loss and suffering for both bands while being together promises an actual future. A bright future that no one imagined before the first movie and that now they cling to.

Dragons and vikings are friends and together cand do basically anything.

That's a very strong message, you know?

And you know what? The third movie decided that such a strong and important message about friendship should leave the franchise completely.

“Free the dragons” it's a concept that doesn't fit with the movies. They're not slaved, they're not away from wildness and, most importantly, they CHOOSE to be with the vikings in the first place. They are already equals, they can do what they want and, you know, they are with the vikings because they want to.

But no, let's do a movie about letting friends go as if it could actually fit in the saga.

(I know it could actually fit but the execution was terrible).

As I said before, the movies resembles Hiccup I befriending dragons and we know how it ends. And someone who has never read the books will go and say "well, it was bound to end that way, why are you mad?” I tell you the difference right now: there's 1000 years of difference between the befriending and the parting in the book, 1000 years in wich we witness the deterioration of said friendship (from being friends and equals to being slaves). That's no what happens in the movies. The films give us 6 years and the only deterioration is within Toothless' character and how they made him a horny dog.

The dragons shouldn't have leave. This was a whim from the writers that thought that ending both stories the same way would be cool. It isn't. At all.

Long story short, it doesn't fit thematically. The movies and the books have different themes with different concepts and different characterizations of the dragons. While the books got story building and present the theme's since the beginning, the movies get it out of no where ignoring the themes in previous works.

Anyways, go read the books they're jewels and the ending isn't as shitty as thw make it look

[fromtheseventhhell]

Saw a Sansa fan say this about Arya when ranting about how unfair it is how everyone is treating Septa Mordane. "Ned gave her the impossible task of making a lady out of Arya, but he indulges his daughter when she rolls on mud or behaves in a socially unacceptable way. So Arya obviously doesn’t listen to Septa Mordane (or Catelyn, for that matter) when she tries to correct her behavior. Why would she? Septa Mordane’s power comes from Ned, and with his behavior he’s taking away her authority to establish rules and to enforce discipline". They just want to completely ignore the fact that Septa Mordane bullied Arya to the point of tears, attempting to embarrass her in front of Myrcella.

The "Septa Mordane was trying her best" takes are always hilarious because they always ignore the context of the situation. They act like she was some poor, frazzled old woman who was at her wit's end when it came to dealing with Arya.

First, nowhere is it that Arya routinely disregards Septa Mordane. I know people have this idea that Arya was just running around Winterfell doing whatever she wanted, but it's clear she was subject to very structured learning practices. The two major examples of her disobeying Septa Mordane are both under uncommon circumstances. If Arya was truly so disobedient and never faced consequences for her actions, then she wouldn't have been in her sewing lesson and attempting her work in the first place. Instead, she is working on her lesson without issue until the moment when Mordane remarks negatively on her work and embarrasses her to the point of tears. Arya's remark that she's going to "shoe a horse" is in response to Mordae telling her she has the hands of a Blacksmith, so it's obvious that her insulting Arya's work and making an example of her was a fairly common occurrence. She also uses her as a measure of bad behavior; she tells Sansa that she is "as willful as Arya" when she's behaving "improperly" and Sansa internalizes this + later thinks she felt as "wicked as Arya".

The second time is when Arya leaves a meal without permission. The lack of empathy for Arya is just so blatant because moment's before we have Arya's internal monologue of mourning her friend's death and thinking she doesn't feel safe among her father's men like she used to. All of this gets ignored and this moment is reduced to Arya being difficult. This person used Ned's quote about Septa Mordane turning Arya into a Lady but apparently, they neglected to read the entire conversation.

"I wasn't playing," Arya insisted. "I hate Septa Mordane." "That's enough." Her father's voice was curt and hard. "The septa is doing no more than is her duty, though gods know you have made it a struggle for the poor woman. Your mother and I have charged her with the impossible task of making you a lady."

This moment that they quoted is Ned doing exactly what he, supposedly, never does and supporting Septa Mordane + disciplining Arya. This entire conversation between the two is Ned telling Arya that she has to grow out of her wild behavior and listen to her teacher. And the only reason that they're having that conversation in the first place is because she went and told Ned of Arya's behavior. So I'm really lost on this logic. There is not a single moment in the story where Septa Mordane is undermined by either Ned or Cat. She has their support in both instances of Arya disobeying her. She isn't even ever faulted for Arya's lack of progress. She is allowed to be incompetent at her job with full authority. So I guess??? Ned and Cat were just never supposed to be nice to Arya or allow her to have fun??? I'm not sure what their idea of Ned "properly" supporting Septa Mordane looks like since we already have that in the story.

Septa Mordane as a teacher, and an adult, has authority over Arya. Whether or not her every word is being directly enforced by either Ned or Cat, that power dynamic still exists. And again, both times that Arya disobeys Septa Mordane she faces consequences. I'm not sure how Arya playing on the way to KL is an example since literally nobody but Sansa remarks on such as an issue, but it's obvious this person is just in the camp of "Arya's behavior is unacceptable". That's why they want her to be constantly corrected by everybody and think it's a failure on Ned's part that he *checks notes* allows his daughter to have fun while they're on a very long and tedious journey. I'm sure this person was also upset when Ned comforted Arya after her emotional outburst. As for Septa Mordane's abilities as a teacher, I think the fact that we never actually witness her teaching anything says it all.

[sweetcloverheart]

Clover Rants Miraculously: Complexity

Miraculous suffers badly from complexity addiction and it’s gotten absolutely worse since season 5 started. Character routes can’t be predictable or just being A to B to C anymore - no, there has to be a twist every minute, they have to deconstruct all the tropes and chara types, they have to keep the audience on their toes every second or else! No one’s allowed to predict anything and things can’t be simply as they appear. However, they also lacks the patience to make the complexity they put in relevant or meaningful. As a result, character growth becomes flat as their personalities and values are changed or reverted back to previous stages to suit whatever the plot needs, with opinions that seem ripped straight from reddit pages and twitter threads that seem to lack any understanding of the topics they’re preaching. No one is allowed to contradict or question anything and status quo must be maintained at all costs, even as it bogs down all the new plot elements and lore they try to bring in. It wants everything to be “deep” without actually doing any work in digging for it.

Which is why the canon Chloe salt, Marinette’s bullying backstory, sentikids, and the Gabriel thing fall flat in their jobs to get everyone to subscribe to the writer’s sole interpretation of the characters/plotlnes they present (and nothing else) - because the writers want the benefits of creating a deeply thematic work that goes outside the bounds of its genre without actually doing anything to create said depth.

Chloe can’t just be a dumb mean girl bully with a sad backstory to explain why she does it - nah, she has to represent the worst of humanity and parallel an abusive parent and monologue about how she has no soul and everyone’s stupid for thinking she does and turn out to be responsible for every bad thing to everyone ever, but the writers will never actually address any of it meaningfully while actively trying to pretend that any implications they made about her character or backstory doesn’t exist or act like it was actually this super malicious psyop done by Chloe herself and we just imagined seasons 2 and 3 in a collective mass hallucination.

Marinette can’t just be cringe about her first crush because she’s a teen and that’s what teens do when it comes to first crushes - nah, she has to have this completely out of nowhere and nonsense dramatic backstory about a prank by Chloe and Kim that justifies all the (kinda borderline creepy) stuff she pulled in the start of the show with PTSD and now you can’t make fun of/criticize her or your mocking a trauma victim you jerk (all while these issues get solved in one episode and all the other reasons to properly explain her flightiness around Adrien are either swept under the rug or just ignored due to inconveniencing their insistence of pushing this “Dating trauma” storyline that somehow only effects her with Adrien and not Luka or Chat Noire for reasons)!

It’s not enough that Adrien (and Kagami and Felix) is an abused kid trying to get out of his father’s controlling grip and come to his own as he explores expanding his boundaries and learns to stand up for himself - nah, he has to be a magical slave golem with 180 different flavors of awful implications baked into the lore of how his creation works and no feasible way for him in canon to actually break away from his dad on his own or with help, with the ending (if it makes it to the final draft/actual episode) regarding it making his entire journey of self-actualization and independence basically meaningless

Gabriel can’t simply be being an over-the-top control freak because of losing his wife and have that be shown as unreasonable - nah, he needs to be given Marinette’s exact same backstory (minus the bullying but I would not put it past them at this point) to justify why he’s totally in the right to be ruining children’s lives and terrorizing citizens and should totally be allowed to win in the end. It’s not that he’s unfairly putting the responsibility of his grief onto completely strangers and poorly justifying it with the idea that it’ll restore his family back to their idyllic days and benefit his son - in the end, guy’s just “a man who loves his family”, so let’s just forget about all the terrorism and emotionally abusing his only living child and focus on the important stuff, like the fact that Chloe and Lila are both the devil and more evil than him.

(Speaking of) Lila can’t just simply be a consummate liar who develops an irrational hatemance against our leading lady for pointing this out - nah, she has to turn out to have a gajillion different damn fake families and even faker aliases to jump through when she get tired of it or they get compromised, and all with it’s own naming system! Are her eyes actually green? Does she really have hair? Is she even Italian? Who knows - certainly not the writers! Isn’t great you invested years of interest and headcanons into a character who turned out to be a complete sham and whom the writers are now going to use to recycle the S1 villain gimmick because the Butterfly is the only villain allowed to exist? I sure am!

The writers want their story to be overly complicated and “deeper than average kids cartoons” but they want to retain their “silly simple cartoon” format and while it’s possible to do, the show runners seem adamant in not taking the steps forward necessary to achieve it, causing a constant conflict in both the show’s genre and character narratives that hurts it’s plotline

TLDR: In the immortal words - pick a lane my dude

[mostspecialgirl]

nonsensical super nerd rant below about the fate series. spoilers for the stay night routes and zero ahead, probably

okay, we’re good, right?

every time someone tries to get someone else to start fate by saying “just watch it in the correct order. start with Fate/Zero :)” Something in me dies. Ive had to tweet about it so many times. There is no series i will ever have nerd rage of this caliber over other than fate. reading fate/stay night changed the way i engage with media and feel about storytelling and writing and all that stuff and its like Why would you ever want someone to spoil all of the coolest twists in fate/stay night by watching zero. it literally spoils like ALL of them. (by the way, gil’s introduction and reveal with him coming out of nowhere is what cemented him as one of my firm favorites. he’s so cool!!!!) And i know the answer. Because no one plays the VN. Because no one ever plays visual novels and theyd rather just flick on an anime. Because for some god awful reason there is no definitive adaptation that cleanly allows you to digest the fate stay night routes !!!!!!!!!! and reading the fucking thing will take you forever !!!!!!!!! and it’s so terribly inaccessible!!!!!! i probably wouldn’t have played it if my sister didn’t already jump through the hoops for me !!!!!!

people who are fate fans and talk about how good unlimited blade works or heavens feel are two starkly different groups depending on if they watched it or read it because they are genuinely two completely different things. don’t get me wrong i Love Love LOVE the heavens feel movies and i doubt they could have done them all too much better (ubw however… ) BUT the thing is fate RELIES on shirou’s internal monologuing and narration and SO much is lost when you have to transfer all of that from writing to screen. even with the english patch translation purportedly being less than ideal i was still out here getting my heartstrings played with by the writing.

BUT ENOUGH GUSHING!!!! THATS THE THING!!!! THE STAY NIGHT ROUTE IN ANIME FORM IS NONEXISTENT!!! UBW AND HEAVENS FEEL ARE SO SEPARATED!!!! THEY’RE THREE ACTS OF A WHOLE AND IT’S PAINFUL TO HAVE THEM BE SO SEPARATED PEOPLE START WITH THE PREQUEL that, while standalone is an incredible story, CANNOT BE EXPERIENCED TO FULL BREADTH WITHOUT HAVING READ STAY NIGHT FIRST!!!! PEOPLE ARE LICKING THE WRAPPER OF A CANDY AND THINKING ITS THE DAMN TASTIEST THING IN THE WORLD !!!!! YOU ARE NOT YET A FAN !!!!! YOU’RE MISSING THE WHOLE POINT !!!!!! KOTOMINE’S VALUE AND INTRIGUE AS A CHARACTER IS UNDERMINED !!!!! GILGAMESH HAS NO TIME TO BE TRULY HORRIFYING BECAUSE YOURE TOO BUSY BEING DISTRACTED BY HOW SEXY HE IS !!!!!! EVERYTHING ABOUT KIRITSUGU !!!!!!!!! SAKURA’S ENTIRE BACKSTORY CHANGING HOW YOU UNDERSTAND AND VIEW HER AS A CHARACTER !!!!!!!!!!! THE FACT THAT YOU KNOW ZOUKEN EVEN EXISTS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(composing myself instantly) i just think it’s kind of garbage how people see cool screenshots from the VN and go Wow I Can’t Wait To Go And Not Experience This Thing I’m Getting Intrigued By. or seeing astolfo and thinking fate is all about porn. fate is so much more than anyone thinks it is and you can’t understand until you sit down and read it and suddenly you’re born anew and have to go play tsukihime or mahoyo too. it’s absurd that fate’s whole reputation online is based around porn addicts because YES, EVERYONE, fate OBVIOUSLY began as a Naked Boobs Visual Novel but it was God’s Greatest Naked Boobs Visual Novel that was SO damn good it stopped being about porn immediately and cemented itself as an astoundingly successful work of fiction that has engrained itself into the world line. they added gacha to it and it’s been one of the most successful mobile games Ever. the seventh highest grossing mobile game of all time. and it’s straight up just another VN with barebones combat and grinding thrown inbetween

anyway i forgot what i was even getting mad about everyone should sit down and drain away a week or so reading through all of fate stay night. and then they can truly earn the incomparable experience of cry watching today’s menu for the emiya family. that is all.

supplementary edit: i used to read through fate stay night together with my sister every day in the late afternoon and it became such a great ritual for us. it was some of the best times of my life and if you’re going to read it and have a likeminded friend who can just sit there and chill out for like an hour with you it makes all the crazy moments so much more fun. because you probably are here to read my rant despite not playing the vn. i remember i had a little text file on my phone we’d update every time we learned the identity of a new servant or master and id be sitting there using my love for mythology trying to figure out their identities. there was such a delightful satisfaction when finished the stay night route and unlimited blade works and got to begin the next one. i’d give up a lot to relive those days, i think.

[beth-march]

Hi! this is out of my comfort zone really by doing this, but I needed to say something and you're the first account i thought couple help! but i've been a confident mileven shipper for years now. i've been able to handle backlash through reason, i've never worried about b*lers, let alone paid them much attention. but after volume two, everything shifted. between the hate mike got at the start for merely voicing the love he's had for the girl he's always loved, to the 180 of people strongly believing he's gay for Will again, it's just incredible. it's inescapable. im mostly observing twitter, which i'd say was a reasonably good place for milevens. it's now turned into a whole other world. infiltrated by kids who claim to want rep, which i fully support as a queer person myself, but who do it in exchange for misogyny and ableism. people who claim to love el yet want her heartbroken. and while this post is a rant, it's also one of concern, and id love to hear from someone as reasonable as you. im firm in my beliefs and my love for mileven, but the duffers have always loved their fan service, and this is unlike anything i've seen since fandoms like Sherlock or Supernatural. Essentially, my question is, do you think the duffers will give into this fan service? clearly the reasonable answer would be no, you don't ruin a 4 season build up like mileven for the sake of fan service. But id be lying if I said the sudden influx of B*ler shippers and the likes they've been getting isn't shocking. So what I'm trying to say is, as Mileven shippers, do you think we need to be worried for season 5? I can't believe im evensaying this; i wouldn't have thought it feasible even a year ago, but the public response is almost intimidating. All the best, and sorry for this dump!

Hey! I’m so happy that you decided to reach out despite it being outside your comfort zone, and I’m touched that you decided to ask me. No need to apologise whatsoever <3

Twitter is fun in that there are some really adamant Mileven defenders on there, but it’s also a deranged swirling cesspit of truly startling volatility, so yes, I understand why you’d be intimidated seeing what goes on over there. Especially given the absolute confidence that hardcore B*lers apparently have in an eventual endgame! It’s astounding to me, how much faith they have. I understand why this vehemence from so many people - making tweets that garner tens of thousands of likes - could make anyone’s faith waver, especially given the Duffers’ history of fan service.

But, I’m still not worried. I’ve never been worried. I know that you’re not really worried yourself, but I understand needing a second person to say that they’re not worried, either. And I’m not! It doesn’t matter how popular that ship becomes, the Duffers are going to stick to their guns when it comes to Mileven. They wrote Mike's monologue themselves. They said in a recent interview that they already know how the show ends and they aren’t going to be influenced by other opinions - they also said “we can’t please everyone”. So that’s a precisely comforting quote for your worries, whether or not it directly applies to By*ler shippers (I wouldn’t be surprised if it did).

If you need some more assurance, just consider where Season 4 left off, and the fact that Season 5 is the last season. In these final eight or nine episodes, the characters are going to be very busy trying to save the world. There isn’t going to be time across those episodes to not only break Mileven up, but also to suddenly have Mike go through a complete and utter change of character, come out as queer, and confess out of nowhere to wanting to be with Will.

It would be very bad story telling, and the Duffers are literally better than that. Their canon romantic relationships are all excellently written - Mileven, Lumax, Jopper and Jancy are all so, so good. So carefully developed, with such good payoffs. If B*ler was going to happen, we would know about it by now. It would not be hidden in subtext - see Vickie and Robin, and Will’s sexuality, which have all been explicitly addressed.

When it comes to our Season 5 endgame, Mileven shippers have one enemy and it’s the possibility of the death trope.

[jess-the-vampire]

Moon the Undaunted 👀

Send me a Character

First impression

i mean anyone's first opinion of moon will be her being the strict mother type and tbh that was the point in the very beginning of the series was to have her be strict and stuffy.

it made her hug with star in the s1 finale all the more cute, and this was before she was actually going to have an expanded character.

Impression now

Yeah i get the impression you guys are sending me all the character who s4 ended up ruining just for me to rant.

Because yes, moon was one of the bigger victims of s4's major character assassination club.

Moon's such a strange case too because they spent a lot of time having her develop as a character and learn to see monsters as people and realize how eclipsa had been mistreated.

only then to have her betray both star and eclipsa for reasons that make no sense no matter how to you at it and make her development seem worthless.

As well as make her look incredibly stupid and self centered.

and then they gloss over it entirely in the end despite how bad what she did was and it's just....it's such a mess, i'm not gonna get into everything wrong with it but it's just one of those things were you can just tell the writers wanted a plot twist...but it's painfully obvious they were not setting up or planning it in advance.

because it doesn't fit her character, her motivations, doesn't make sense logically, ect ect.

tbh there was merit in the idea of moon being a villian, but it was poorly handled in the actual show and it actively ruined her character for people and i can't blame them.

They ruined her character for a twist, that's the jist of it.

Say what you want about twists like "philip = Belos is obvious", at least it's not coming the bum out of nowhere and is actually hinted, planned, and makes sense in the story.

what they did to moon is a prime example of bad plot twists that ruin characters.

Favorite moment

her fight scene with ludo/toffee is one of the few good fight scenes we really got after s1, and i miss the show having good fight scenes.

Idea for a story

hey hey, if you wanna try moon as a villian, go write one that handles it well and doesn't pull it completely out of nowhere.

Unpopular opinion

tbh i'm not completely satisfied with how they did her and toffee's relationship, the fandom had many more interesting ideas for what could've happened between them and despite the awfulness of the murder.....

it just doesn't feel satisfying with the dark implications toffee had with the family when he was monologuing in s1.

Their relationship felt kinda...weak sauce compared to what was being built up tbh.

Favorite relationship

her dynamic with river is still very cute.

Favorite headcanon

she and ludo are on mutual to friend terms after what happened in s2, just because it seemed sweet how much she reached out to him.

[firesnap]

Continuing the babbling of the "endings I wanted to see" on the DSMP.

When we talk about dsmp things we wish we could have seen, but we likely won't at this point, one of the first things I think of is Wilbur Making A Friend. I'm talking a friend that he doesn't have to also play big brother or mentor to or have some weird tension charged rivalary with them. So I think about the adults Wilbur had a strong relationship, and one he didn't, to see if any of those would fit. Wilbur needed someone who would let him breath a little. Someone who would hold him accountable for wild behavior, but not tie him to being a villain.

Behind a cut because this is just me thinking aloud more than anything like "My official head canon and deep meta reasons for why I want this."

And then I think about the possible candidates for it. I think a lot of people put Niki here and I wonder, honestly, if their story isn't going to end up being "you can't go home again" instead. Their relationship soured in a way so different than Wilbur and Tommy's did, and it would all depend on them 1) getting through the briars currently in their relationship and 2) Niki getting to a place where she won't feel like she's getting lost in it

Then there's Eret and this is kind of like what I said about Niki, but in reverse. That first hurt runs so deeply through Wilbur, is such a part of Wilbur at this point, that it feels like it would have been near impossible to untangle it. I'd like them to get to a place of peace, because who else other than Eret would understand causing a harm that branches out far more than you could predict, but it's not like I see them becoming casual "let's drink wine and do mischief" friends.

Technoblade and Wilbur? The only thing that makes me hesitate here is how Technoblade talked about Wilbur during the Resurrection Attempt arc. He made it seem like he didn't think Wilbur was a good guy at the end, but like... he also went along with WIlbur's ideas and seemed pretty happy to work with him until the bitter end. (Saying that, I have a head canon that the reason Techno was always so soft with Ghostbur and the resentment he has toward Wilbur stems from not knowing Wilbur didn't plan to leave L'Manburg alive and feeling like he was fine with a bit of terrorism, but the not with being the light show to a suicide.)

Oddball choice for a similar vibe as Technoblade and Wilbur, and obviously this more of a funny call back that thing, but imagine if Connor had taken up that role of Wilbur's Adult Friend. You'd get the dry comments similar to Technoblade. You'd get obvious banter. You'd also get Connor listening to Wilbur monologue or give dramatic rants and then either rolling his eyes or offering a truth bomb that few others would do with Wilbur.

Actually, if Connor had been more active on the server, that would have been such a fun choice that seems a little out of nowhere, but honestly, Wilbur needed to have a friend that wasn't tied to L'Manburg -- something similar to giving him a fresh start like Ranboo was doing, but again, an actual adult.

I like the idea that it could have been someone completely out of left field. George and Wilbur start talking about how they feel separated from everyone else, and how hard it is to connect to people, and then George starts babbling that he may have sold his soul to a god while Wilbur thinks he's speaking in metaphors.

[sexydreamgirl]

Hey there :)

I think it is okay within the posted rules to vent to your ask box and I really hope it is because I don’t have anyone else to talk to about this. No content warnings or anything btw. Just general frustration. You don’t even have to read it if you don’t want to. I know it’s not your job and I don’t want to seem like I am doing this because I am entitled to a response or anything. I just don’t know what to do with all this and I need somewhere to put it.

So today I’ve tried to get into the void again for the who knows how many-ith time and I almost started crying outright. And the thing is, it wasn’t even me having frustration with the void method or any particular method that did it. I’m frustrated with manifesting and myself in general.

I found out about conscious manifesting months ago and have being trying to do it ever since. I was maybe in a less than awesome place when I found out about it and it gave me hope. However, now it feels like a shiny new tool to beat myself up with.

I have this constant monologue in my head of “oh, you just have to get out of this victim mindset, you have to improve your self concept, you need to be having fun, you need to truly believe, you need to affirm, it’s supposed to be effortless, it’s supposed to be easy, yada yada yada...” and it just never ends.

I feel like I’m chasing after a mirage and every time it feels so close I could almost taste it, it vanishes into thin air.

And the funny part is, I know it’s no one’s fault but my own. All anyone is trying to do is help me and I just can’t seem to help myself. I really am not trying to say “pity me” or whatever, but I’m starting to feel like I’m wired wrong or something.

But with something like this, how are you ever supposed to go back? How can I be okay with the knowledge that if I had just put in more work I could’ve created a beautiful life for myself and everyone around me? I can’t stop because I can’t risk losing out on the life I want, but I can’t keep running in place either.

I just feel so lost and overwhelmed and that sinking feeling that everything is somehow my fault is back, except now I know that it is and it’s terrifying and I don’t know what to do about any of it.

And I know any answer anyone could give to this rant is gonna be “work on your self concept”, but that’s exactly the thing I can’t seem to improve. The void was my last ditch effort to get my self concept in line and I couldn’t manage it yet again.

I think I may try to take some time off of conscious manifesting for a couple of days, but I’m not totally sure how because it’s sort of infected my brain. It’s gotten to the point where, while it’s not all I think about, it’s a lot of what I think about. And I find myself judging every thought based on if it is helpful to manifesting, neutral, or detrimental. There’s nowhere left to turn and the call is coming from inside the house.

Sorry for ranting and raving. Like I said this isn’t your problem, I just needed to let this stuff out. And I needed to see if letting it all out would get me closer to an answer on what to do next and sadly, I don’t think it has. Not really sure what to do or where to go from here :(

Also, though I can’t imagine you would because this ask is stupid long, if you are still reading: Thanks for being around and helping people. This stuff is so amazing and reading success stories and hearing about people getting out of awful situations kept me from throwing in the towel many times. You’re really out here doing this for nothing but the love of the game, and I can’t tell you how grateful I am for you and everyone who runs these LOA blogs. So, a thousand times and a thousand more, thank you for all you do!

Hey :( it's okay my love, that's what my ask is for (so you can have a place to let it all out) I completely understand where your frustration comes from but don't worry I won't tell you to do what I tell everyone else to do. I will say I'm glad that through all of this not once did you propose quitting, so that alone is a very good indicator that you'll be okay! Take a few days to yourself, relax, don't even think about manifesting during that time, leave mental diets alone just have that time for yourself without any thoughts about manifesting. Remember that this is something we've been doing our whole lives, we are literally wired for this. The only difference is that we are now doing it consciously.

I think at this point it would be a good idea to go back to the basics and have a fresh start. Get back to that beginner level and take a few baby steps, manifest little things to gradually build up your confidence. Take it slow and don't impose so much pressure on yourself to do this correctly from the start. Didn't go out as planned? Don't worry, just try again. Surely you have heard this time and time again whether it was from me or from someone else but persist. Don't take no for an answer. If this (conscious manifesting) is something you truly want (I know it is), you won't give up on it. I know when I first started I was bombarded with intrusive thoughts about how if I was God then why didn't I succeed to manifest on the first try? It was a repetitive me vs. me dialogue I was putting up with but I managed to find a way to use the law to my advantage and I got out of that annoying cycle. I could have easily given into those intrusive thoughts and gotten disheartened and go back to having no intentional control over my life. But I absolutely refused to let that be an option. This was something I wanted no matter what and I continue to persist in that journey and I'm happy you are too. Don't give up. You can do this, angel. All my love

[certifiedceraunophile]

Hi! A fan of your writing here. I just love the way you write Caroline. An Avoidable Heart is my comfort fic and I am constantly in awe with the way you write and craft the dynamics in that story. Caroline's inner monologue is just priceless and God! I just love that intro scene where Caroline is walking into the Mikaelson compound with vampires and hybrids in the surrounding ready to pounce on her.

I would love to hear how you would have visualized Caroline crossing over into TO or not? Like in what season and why? How it would have likely gone?

Thank you!

First of all lovely anon gimme a moment to breathe, asdfghjkl why are people so lovely 😭😭🥺✨ It means sooo much to me that you’d take the time to jump into my inbox and send these kind words, like please I’m not worthyyyyy, But you make me smile and feel really freaking warm so *handcuffs your hand to mine* you aint leaving 💖✨💞🙃

But OK ALSO oh my god dude THAT CAROLINE WALTZS INTO THE COMPOUND AND TAKES ON A COUPLE HUNDRED VAMPIRES BY HERSELF SCENE???? Ughhhhh I’m sorry but I have SUCH a boner for Caroline in that, like my badass -I admit kinda op- QUEEN IS HERE and she’s fucking shit up, I’m sorry but I love that scene so much it’s so dear to me I was killing myself over how self-indulgent and grossly Over powered Caroline is but like idgaf man it’s such a hot scene and Caroline is practically invincible and we just love to see that, so seriously lovely anon, you telling me you LOVE that scene??? Puts the biggest smile on my face and reassures me a LOT bc I was whining and cribbing over how absolutely unbalanced that scene is to literally everyone BUT LIKE YOU JUMPING OUT OF NOWHERE and pointing that exact scene UGHH…...meant to fucking be the both of us 💖💞✨

And ALSO Caroline’s monologue is quite honestly the easiest inner monologue out of the three voices I wrote for that work, Klaus’s is the real pain in the ass tbvh like it is NOT easy writing pretentious besotted losers with a Kardashian complex especially when you need to make them sound cool when they’re the lamest OP dude bros to ever exist - and no I don’t hate Klaus although I seem to try my darndest to convince ppl I do- I just personally believe that a feral fucker like that with a thousand years of existence under his belt can grow a pair and graduate from his kindergarten level of emotional maturity to adult sometime soon, But then on the flipside he’s so grossly adorkably smitten and feral for Caroline plus hella horny for her all the time that its usually easy to write the trashed and devoted idiot he is into something pretentious and powerful and potent when relating to his unflappable arrogance and his narcissism, but sometimes I also need him to be *deep* and ffs profound for the sake of the plot and jfc my muse just wont work with me on that, she’s like I’m sorry I’m not about to bust my ass to make this mongrel intelligible like no sir all I wanna do is make him uncomfortably horny for Caroline and leave him like that.

So smh yeah the struggle is real….but lmao Caroline is just so precious and fiercely protective and just so achingly lonely in that story, so desperate for connection and trust and intimacy yet so guarded and impervious to everyone like it hurts me to write her like that but it really challenges me as an author to balance out her inherent light with the “void” I create in her and through her, so yeah it’s a very fulfilling task and I wouldnt change it one bit, and also I had to balance out her physical op-ness w half a millennium of the ugliest emotional trauma lol so I guess that figures, but the point being….once again I am overjoyed knowing that you liked a facet of the story that I tried so hard to make as authentically Caroline and achingly real and moving as I can and I cannot possibly feel more accomplished than rn for it so ty ty ty ty for reaching out to me and telling me *tackle hugs* It makes me GIDDY knowing that you enjoyed that particular part of the story like ugh stab me please you're too sweet.

And ok NOW, coming to The Originals part of the ask, (also please note that when I say TO headcanon; Hope does not exist, Hayley is a dead in a ditch and ofc Klaus will stop being that lil bitch they tried to pawn off as Klaus in TO) 

HEADCANON 1

Honestly my biggest headcanon when it comes to TO crossovers somehow always include non-humanity!Caroline like it’s just so perfect to me?? The opportunity to make shit BLOW UP b/w them like imagine the DEBAUCHERY, the heat, the SEXUAL TENSION, the repression of one Klaus Mikaelson, the EXPLORATIONS, and omg the role reversal when Klaus has to be the voice of moral reason between them and not bc he believes Caroline would not be able to stand herself if she does something heinous and monstrous but bc he wants her to be completely and utterly herself, and yk *aware*, when she DECIMATES ppl to the ground and is in full-on predator mode, like he wants her monster to come out and play with him when no part of Caroline is locked away or suppressed, so obviously when she is w/o her humanity KLAUS exercises restraint on her behalf, like can you imagine that, Klaus restraining himself and being the vague, extremely broken and just largely inaccurate moral compass between the two of them for ALL the wrong reasons- and the entirety of NOLA just standing there watching him herd this baby vampire who seems to be intent on riling him up and angering him when all she is doing is giving him a massive hybrid hard on, like IMAGINE THE GOODNESS of non-humanity Caroline wrecking NOLA and Klaus letting her wreck it bc he is helpless in the face of Caroline Forbes and also bc he is quite honestly *enjoying* the debauchery himself so why put a damper on the festivities.

-I might wanna add that I favour this headcanon a lot bc I genuinely do not even remotely *like* the idea of NOLA as Klaus's chosen place to set his roots so like I would love Caroline going to NOLA and destroying everything there just bc I detest NOLA and the storyline behind it in TO. (yes is it petty? Obvi, but like I am a petty soul and I make no apologies ma’am)

HEADCANON 2

So yeah that’s my main TO headcanon, but my other one being, one I talk about very frequently, scream about in tag rants to an obsessive level, and like this is a cracky one but still very valid, where Caroline rolls up to NOLA humanity intact and all, finds Hayley preggo and is just laughing her fucking ass off bc anybody ANYBODY, with half a brain and a two minute convo w klaus would know how UTTERLY stupid the entire baby shit is especially when it’s with an immemorable one night stand, and Caroline’s just losing her shit about how like an entire city is obssessed w this baby and she just straight up tells Klaus he’d SUCK as a dad (which he really does tho like he was a shitty fucking dad canonically too) and Klaus is just like *sigh* girl tell me about it. I mean basically he’s finally relieved that someone is on his side about the whole baby thing and how he definitely does not want his entire millennium of life to finally sum up to this one squalling leaking stinky infant/unicorn Hayley is apparently baking in her oven, and I say this headcanon is cracky bc klaus would never have put up w this mess long enough for Caroline to come in and sort it out, there’s this preferred method of disposal of his called heart ripping that would've been employed quite early on and honestly saved us all a lot of brain cells and minused years of life, bc let’s be real any Klaus who’s NOT a lil snivelling bitch wearing a Klaus skinsuit would’ve yeeted the baby and the mama first chance he got, and that’s just how I see it.

Lmao I really hope I didnt scare you away w my *strong* opinions Ik they can be a bit much but I enjoy having them so theyre not going anywhere, anyways this ask answer got WAYYYY too long but I’m hoping I answered your question well with this or atleast left you slightly confused and bemused over my feral screaming....either ways I’m really really really happy to have got your ask and the chance to rant so much bs, Twas cathartic and honestly I had nothing to do today so I was more than happy to dish this baby out for you. Thank you so much sweet anon for putting a smile on my face today I am absolutely HONOURED by your words you’sa cutie 💖💞✨🗣🗣

[a-little-slice-of-fandom]

In response to the Jane ask, I totally agree! Her song, as vague as it might be in the newer versions, is very much about emotional abuse and her realizing/reflecting on it. In the other versions this is arguably even clearer! Besides the list in the first verse, there’s a line in the student run version that always get me, in the second verse after “with out my son your love will disappear”. Usually in the lastest version it’s “I know it isn't fair, but I don't care”, which can be a sign of even tho she knows that he has hurt her at this point, her love will still be there for her son. But the student run it’s something like “you’ll let us fall apart, try to break my heart” which I think is much more powerful in showing more of her self awareness at what would happen to her. Also that opening monologue before about if she was really loved or just checked all the boxes on a list before she could make him angry, she knew that he would be willing to destroy her if she didn’t do as he wanted (Cause Anne wasn’t some death that would never happen again and that only happened cause Jane was there, he was to said to have threaten Jane with the same fate cause of the pilgrimage of grace incident (also well it did happened gain two queens later). Also just a slight unrelated thing, I can sorta understand why people blame Jane for Anne’s death but also not really. It was a whole campaign against Anne, and we only know that Jane was yeah trying to be queen due to influence from her family and others trying make sure she was but I don’t think it’s her fault Henry (and others) decided the best course of action would be to kill Anne. Though I am not a big Tudor researcher, this is only from multiple weeks and hours of searching and learning cause of curiosity and someone could fact check me but that’s what i interpreted the history as. Random rant over) Also the fact (and I’m pretty sure this is true in the newest version), she says “loved” most of the time. The past tense is important there, cause yeah maybe she did truly think she “loved” him. And he may have been the only one she ever “loved” but that cause she probably didn’t get a chance to love someone else (when Henry says it’s you, it’s you after all). This is just speculation though, I can’t assume what a 500 year old historical figure was truly feeling but a character in a show is different and ready for analysis. For that I say that maybe she did “love” him but it easily could have been out of fear or wanting to just deal with the cards dealt to her. But at the end she realizes where she wants her love to be directed towards, and that’s her son and in “Six” her new found family.

And fun fact about her part in “Six” (I kinda learned from something on tumblr but can’t remember who but either way here it is.) it’s 200% about the queens as her family, with her pun at the end being the main signifier of this. “You could perhaps call us the Tudor Von Trapps” is a reference to the Trapp Family Singers, an Austrian singing family (if you see the wiki for them, they are apparently the inspiration for sound of music, Neat!). So from that you would think “oh she’s talking about Henry and her kids with him having a band” but then she says “Just kidding! We’re called the Royalling Stones!”. A Rolling Stones references and they were made by friends forming a band, so that can be associated that the queens are said friends in this case but also part of family that has grown! Also Rolling Stones have a song called heart of stone, seriously this is the most clever joke Jane had during the show and it makes me, a pun/joke lover, very happy to see this be such a character trait that it’s in the damn description for her character for an auditioning sheet (check out Citadle Theather and Six the Musical in google, i think you’ll find it.)

Anyway sorry about this long ramble, it’s just that even though I totally can see how people view Jane as “weaker” in terms of some writing choices made, I still think there’s a lot to talk about with not just her current incarnation but also the other ones as well. I wish some changes werent made to her song, but she is a still strong character about the effects of emotional abuse and maternity. There’s nothing bad about talking about those things, your right that it doesn’t make her any less feminist. Anyway ramble over and I hope you have a lovely day :)

Hello hun!

Please don’t apologise for rambling! I’m always so interested in hearing other opinions on the queens and I love the opportunity to discuss any queen at any time! Frankly, I’m just impressed you got the whole essay into one message! Have they gotten rid of the character limit? Sorry, not relevant to the question.

(Also sorry for how long this took to answer! Uni happened sort of happened and I didn’t want to half ass my response to such a well thought out ask)

I adore the older versions of Heart of Stone, especially the student run version! I completely agree that Seymour feels so much more aware of her place in Henry’s life in the older versions. In the older version she knows she wasn’t Henry’s true love (even though she loved him) and she knows her worth is completely dependent on her ability to give Henry a son. She literally says “nothing lasts forever, I’ll fade away”. That is such a powerful statement and I wish that line was still in the song! I still think these themes are in the new version, but they’re nowhere near as explicit. Plus the character development in the student run feels much more explicit, with Seymour saying “soon I’ll have to go, I’ll never see you grow” instead of “him grow” in the new versions. She’s clearly speaking to Edward in the older version, so the last half of HOS in the old versions (at least in my eyes) is actually directly speaking to Edward and not Henry as many people think. I still think this is true for the new versions, illustrating Seymour’s character development as she breaks away from Henry and rather concentrates on her son, but again I don’t think it’s obvious in the new version. The older version just felt so much more powerful and I think it presented Seymour as much more as a victim than the newer version...which I argue is true! Seymour was as much of a victim as any other character in the show and I think she deserves more sympathy than the show gives her, and for as much as I love the newer versions of six, you can’t deny that Seymour is reduced to a joke for half of the show. The student version is such a genuine and earnest version of Seymour, and I can’t help but love her. It’s definitely a testament to the actresses from the student run that their characters are still on parr with professional versions of the show!

(Im so sorry I don’t feel like I’m adding anything to your analysis, but you’ve really summed up my feelings perfectly! )

Weirdly, I think that the student run and studio run play with the idea of having a “heart of stone” better than the modern version. I love the contrast between the material things that Henry can buy versus the natural world. Material things can fade, but the natural world (and Seymour’s love) transcends that. It’s a really nice use of juxtapostion in that song and I just don’t feel like the newer versions play with those images as much as the older version.

I do sort of get why they changed it (I think Seymour spends upwards of 10 just listing different objects, which is powerful in its own way but I do think audience members could get bored of those verses) but I wished they had still somehow managed to keep the theme that Seymour as explicit. I still think it’s there in the newer version of the song, but I don’t think it’s anywhere near as obvious as the older version. It would make HOS more like AYWD in a way, and that would be brilliant. Six shouldn’t be afraid to tackle different forms of abuse.

I personally can’t comment on the whole Anne Boleyn vs Jane Seymour thing because I just don’t know enough about the situation. However I don’t think any of the wives should be burdened with the blame of what happened to their predecessors. It wasn’t their fault.

Also I’d never thought of the tudor von trapps vs the royalling stones indicating that it was a found family rather than a blood family, but it’s actually such a neat little detail and I think it makes complete sense! I have always maintained that Seymour’s “family” doesn’t have to be related by blood. Found family is just as meanigful and as important as a bloof family, and Seymour finding her place with the other queens and calling them her family rather than Henry is very powerful in my opinion. I just don’t think the “my family’s grown” lime has to be as literal as people take it. Thanks for bringing that line to my attention though!

Seymour isn’t a “weak” character, both in term of the writing and in terms of character development. As much as I love the older versions of Seymour, I still like the new versions and appreciate that Toby and Lucy decided to allow Seymour to be a motherly character and have that be treated as an equally empowering thing as the other queens. Some women want to be mothers and that’s okay!

Anyway thank you so much for this ask my love! I really enjoyed thinking about Seymour (since she’s not a character I talk about a lot). Sorry again for taking so long to respond ❤️❤️❤️

[dadolorian]

Just like me- Part 2

A/N: Some Light Angst because i am an Angst WHORE Credits: Thank you @oloreaa​ for being my Beta reader/editor !

Title: Just Like me Fandom: Prospect (2018) Ship: Ezra/Reader Warning: Reader is an Amputee, talk of injuries/recovering. Hinted PTSD. Arguments. Canonical death mentioned. Angst? Word count: 5K + (Ahhhh this one is almost double the last one in length but there was nowhere to stop)  Master List Request status AO3 Link Previous part  Next part - coming soon

True to his word, Ezra was quick to find you again, an enthusiastic man you had come to notice as he was knocking at your door the next morning. He had that big, charming smile plastered on his face and apparently had been eagerly awaiting an appropriate time to come seek you out. The second he had finished his morning meal with ‘Cee’ he had excused himself to come find you he later informed you. You hummed happily, inviting him into your quarters, delighted by his eagerness, for you mirrored his enthusiasm. From that point on he had integrated himself as a permanent part of your routine on the journey home. 

Unless one of you was busy, you could be found together somewhere on the ship. Most of the time it was in your quarters, but that didn’t stop the two of you venturing out to the observation deck, the mess hall or any small alcove along the many hallways so you could wrack each other’s brain.  Most of your conversations were sharing your opinions on the books you started to read together, laughing as he would use his way with words and expressive vocabulary to add and improve upon the work, something he said he was inspired to do from his ‘Little Bird’. He on the other hand enjoyed listening to your ideas and the way you interpreted the pieces, thoroughly enjoying listening to you as you tried to explain what you believed certain things meant. And just as you had offered, you helped him with dealing with his amputation. During your first few days getting to know one another you explained different prosthetics, and helped him narrow down his choices based on his needs, for when the time came. He wanted something advanced enough to allow him individual movement of his fingers rather than a basic one that would only clench all of them, something that allowed him more control and finesse. You steered him in the direction of a limb similar to your own, something vacuum sealed that would allow him to wear it without the need for too many straps. “You truly have made this process far less daunting,” he had told you as he took messy notes with his left hand and flashing you that smile once more. He began to subject you to many annoying arm puns, his vocabulary resulting in some of the most creative and long winded puns you had ever heard. You wanted to smack him each time you saw that shit eating grin but you just couldn’t stay annoyed at him for long. ‘Keeva,’ you thought ‘Is this what it's like when I do it too?’

While you weren’t as skilled at such creative language, you had experience on your side, giving him simple but classical leg puns quickly in return. His boisterous laugh each time warming your heart.

His little notebook was soon filled with all the advice you had given him on keeping his stump healthy, and one evening, just a few weeks after you had met he even trusted you enough to begin speaking about his nightmares with you. It was clear he showed a tremendous amount of trust in you at that point already, as he bore his deepest fears to you and allowed himself to be so vulnerable in your presence. 

You had sat by his side on your bunk, stroking his back in comfort as he trembled and confessed what was haunting him. In return, you began to share the more personal stories of your recovery, telling him of painful therapies, numerous surgeries and horrifying nights alone in the hospital. He was able to provide you with your own comfort you had been denied for so long.

From breakfast till nightfall, every day for months you two were in each other's company, conversations with Ezra were far from boring, but as the two of you grew closer you both felt comfortable enough with each other to not constantly fill the silence. The day the two of you spent just sitting in your bunk each reading a book in complete silence together was the day you felt like you could truly call him a friend, not just someone you knew. He had even introduced you to Cee, his ‘little bird’ he had mentioned when you had first met, she was weary of you at first, not that you blamed her after everything she had gone through. But you made a genuine effort to gain her trust, and you weren’t close, but she began to relax around you during your short interactions. Ezra told you he had made it his personal goal to make sure Cee would be taken care of now that she was orphaned, when he first started to trust you more he had explained to you the full tale of how they met. Curled up on your bed, side by side, he expressed deep sorrow in being the reason Cee was now an orphan as well as some hidden resentment towards her father for what he had attempted to do to him, but more importantly, the life he had forced Cee into. You listened to Ezra rant on about how Cee should never have been taken to the Green. How a child her age should not have been forced into the life of a prospector. You could see quite clearly that Ezra had a connection with her, he cared for her and wanted to do right by her. That just endeared him to you more. The contrast between a hardened, cynical prospector and a soft, genuine man made him seem more human to you than any other person you had met.  

He was the complete opposite of you, in terms of affection, he did nothing to hide his thoughts and admiration of you, even from the start, constantly complimenting you and making any excuse to touch you. He was always watching for any sign that it was unwelcomed, and he did nothing to hide his adoring smiles when they weren't. You on the other hand weren’t quite as expressive as him, you wished you had the confidence he seemed to have, because you wanted so desperately to return all his affections, his compliments, his casual touches. He would casually brush some hair from your face and you wanted to lean into his touch, to feel the warmth of his hand on your cheek. When the two of you sat together, curled up on your bunk as you often were, one of you reading out loud from one of your precious books, you wanted to rest your head on his shoulder and embrace him. He would casually put his arm around you as you walked, you wanted nothing more than to lean into him and wrap your own arm around him in return. But no, every time he spouted beautiful monologues complimenting you,admiring you, praising your mere existence to the heavens you kept quiet, somehow convincing yourself Ezra was just being nice.

It was amazing and terrifying just how important he had become to you in just a few short months. Your feelings were an uncomfortable cocktail in your stomach, you were wanting to bridge whatever gap was between the two of you and become something more, but were fearing the risk of losing the friendship you had. And a cynical, depressing, part of your mind wanted to push him away, knowing deep down once you departed the ship you would lose everything regardless. It was some desperate attempt to shield yourself from the pain that was to come. 

But as he spoke about some other thought that had escaped his beautiful mind you pushed those ideas away, burying them deep so you could enjoy your time with him and deal with them later. It was not something you would be able to keep up forever. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A week before you were scheduled to land back on central, you were curled up with him on your bunk as usual, his one arm around you, leaning back against the wall with a content smile and his eyes closed as he listened to you read aloud. You were lost in thought, reading the words aloud on instinct, not really paying attention to the words you spoke as you thought. You had been avoiding it for a while, but now, a week until you landed, you were finding it increasingly impossible to distract yourself from what plagued your mind. You had never kept up a friendship or relationship at all once you parted ways with someone. You did not have his affinity for words, you couldn’t just ask or communicate your thoughts the way he could, so you continued to push it away. You had a tendency to do so, that was why it took you so long to properly deal with your own recovery, it took wanting to help him for you to accept that. And had picked up on it, he truly was an observant man because he always noticed when you were trapped in your own mind, overthinking every little thing when something was bothering you. Even as you read aloud, he noticed it. “Angel?” He asked, a pet name he had taken to calling you after he joked for the umptheenth time that you were Heavensent. “What is plaguing that extraordinary mind of yours?” He asked, opening his eyes to look at you, brow quirked in question. You glanced at him. “Nothing,” you lied, trying to be nonchalant, giving him a one shouldered shrug, to which he huffed. “Please, do not attempt to lie to me like that,” he said, narrowing his eyes at you in suspicion. “We have far established that I can tell when something is bothering you. You are usually so expressive when you read to me, a fact I thoroughly enjoy as I listen to your angelic voice." He paused, brows burrowing, looking at you.

"You are distracted and monotonous as you speak Angel, something is troubling you."

His voice softened until it was barely above a whisper, "You are nothing if not patient and understanding with me in aiding me in my troubles. Please grant me the same trust I do to you?” He had a point, he trusted you in telling you of his nightmares, trusted you at his most vulnerable, surely you could do him the same courtesy? You sighed, trying to think of a way to best express your thoughts into something he could understand. “We land in a week,” you started, crossing your arms in self comfort, and he simply looked at you, cocked his head, unable to see what was so significant about that fact. You continued when he didn’t say anything. “I have never maintained any sort of relationship once I have parted ways with someone. I have never run into the same partner again, or managed to keep a friendship once I have left. I’m too much of a drifter.” A soft, understanding smile drifted across his face. “And you fear we will drift apart once we are done with our endeavors?” he asked, giving your shoulder a gentle and affectionate pat. You nodded slowly, avoiding his gaze. “There is a simple fix to that, Angel, we must simply keep in touch once we depart!” he said cheerfully, as if it was the easiest thing in the world. “I would love for it to be that simple, Ezra.” You sighed “But once we land I'm going to look for work as soon as possible. I’ll take the next sling out to whatever planet I can find to continue prospecting. I’ve been so desperate to get back on my feet, literally, that I'm not even going to stick around central to enjoy my spoils from this job.” He thought about that for a moment. “I suppose I do not blame you for that,” he said, rubbing his patchy beard for a second in further thought. “I am certain when the time comes for me I will be finding myself in the same position. But, we can try to keep in contact!” His optimistic and playful smile trying to ease your anxieties. “Once we land I will be making my way with Little Bird and finding a home. Get all the legal stuff sorted, and get her into a school. Keeva knows she has no desire to stay stuck in the life of a prospector and I am not inclined to force her. We can arrange for a means of communication between us before you leave again,” he said, removing his hold on you to give you a comforting pat on the knee. You gave him a skeptical look. “You? Setting down roots?” You asked skeptically, not believing it for a second. He was more of a drifter at heart than you were, you knew for a fact he had no desire to settle yet and wanted to get back to exploring the galaxy as soon as possible. “I’m afraid so.” He sighed, a sad but hopeful, wistful look in his eyes. “There is no way any sort of sane official will let me become Little Birds legal guardian without a stable home. I am not connected to her by blood after all and I have no rights to drag her over the galaxy for my own dreams as her biological father felt the need to." He sighed again at that, gaze becoming far away, a small frown settling on his face. "She will be happier with the chance to settle down and experience a normal life, I intend to give her that.” “Thats…incredibly selfless of you, Ezra” you mumbled, once again endeared to his soft nature he kept hidden under the hardened exterior he often tried to convey. “It’s… The right thing to do,” he said, shoulder slumped. “I am the reason she is without a father after all, I can't just abandon her to the mercies of the universe after what I took.” “Please tell me you aren’t doing this out of guilt?” you asked clanging back at him with a small frown. “Taking care of her as some penance what happened on the Green is not the only way you can do right by her-” “I know that!” He interrupted, hand held palm up to stop you. “I am not doing this as some form of self inflicted ‘punishment’. I have been having many serious conversations with the Little Bird when I retire from your company each night,” he explained pinching the bridge of his nose as he revealed his plans. “Our original plan was to track down some distant relative, or put her into government care but neither of us were satisfied with those bleak options. I have grown close to her, she is a remarkable child and i want to make sure she is taken care of, given the best life she can possibly get." He took a deep breath, looking distressed. "She will not get that from some government official, or some strange family member she has never even met before, who takes her in simply from biological obligation. Someone who holds no love in their heart for such an amazing child. Who would possibly have any desire to be raised by that?"

Ezra looked at you, expression earnest. "I am taking this upon myself, because I want to. I resent any notion of not seeing her again, just as I hold in my heart the fear of not being able to see you again either.” Your heart melted at his words. “Ezra,” you sighed, leaning forward on the bunk. “I can’t make any promises, you and I both know prospecting isn’t a lifestyle that allows long term relationships to last….” “Then I shall make it my goal to keep in contact with you!” he said, optimism clear in his voice and sparkling in his soft eyes. “I’ll send out transmissions every single night to you if i have to to keep our friendship kindled! Just to keep some semblance of you in my life, and I in yours.” You rolled your eyes. “Yeah, that will keep up for what? Six months before you get bored?. Until someone more interesting comes around and i become an afterthought in your day-” “Angel, just where are you getting these thoughts?” he interrupted, shaking his head. “How could you possibly think I would forget about you for even a second? My thoughts have been consumed by you from the moment we met!” He got closer, but did not touch you, hand clenching in obvious frustration. “Experience, Ezra,” you sighed, pushing yourself away from him a little. You had not intended to start an argument, but you wanted him to understand that once you parted ways, you had little hope for what was between you to continue. The annoying, toxic little thoughts that had been creeping in the back of your mind for a while started spilling out. You had learnt the hard way that your life would not allow for something so permanent. When you had met him and offered your ear, your help, you did not believe it would extend past landing in Central. You hoped to give him enough help until he could find permanent support. But you became enthralled by him, your friendship had blossomed into something you would cherish for a lifetime, something you knew could not be maintained and fall apart just like every other relationship you had ever had. “Then let’s experience something better!” He pleaded. “I am more than willing to put in the effort to keep in contact with you! Whatever it takes, Angel, I'll do it!” Desperation clung to his words, his brows furrowed as he looked at you, jaw working, visibly holding back on his words. “Your optimism is just going to get you hurt,Ezra,” you sneered, “I should have brought this up weeks ago, before we got so close-” He cut you off. “You wish to have cut our friendship off before we became close? Angel, I would not have allowed such a thing-” You got up off the bunk in an annoyed huff, away from him, he just didn’t get it. “Do you really believe it could work, Ezra?” You asked him with an exasperated sigh, gesturing at the distance between the two of you. ”Have you ever been able to successfully maintain a relationship of any kind once you said your goodbyes?” His brow furrowed, shoulder slumped once more and his gaze drifted down to the ground. “N-no…I have not, Angel,” he sighed. “It might have been for the best if we had just cut this off before anything started. That way neither of us would get hurt,” you said, wrapping your arms around yourself in comfort. “I believe that's a cowardly way to shield your heart, Angel” he said, lips pressed tightly together. “Have you ever heard the quote ‘tis better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all’? I value the friendship I have found in you, and even if we do not see each other after we part ways, even with the heartbreak I am positive I shall experience. I will hold onto the memory of you and our friendship with a deep love and admiration. I will not regret even for a second choosing to get to know you and becoming your friend because I was afraid of getting hurt.” His voice was low, pain an audible undercurrent in it. “Well, I wish I had your mindset.” You sighed, shaking your head. “I learnt a long time ago that it's just easier to not get involved so much.” “ ‘Easier’ “ He scoffed. “That’s just cowardice and we both know it. How is the woman I met this guarded? This afraid? You are a dazzling and radiant creature. Such a brave and kindhearted woman, I had no inclination you could be this cold about something.” “And here I thought you were logical enough to understand the reality of long term relationships as a prospector!” You snapped, pointing a finger at him. “You said so yourself that you have never maintained one in this life-” “I’ve never wanted to before!” he almost shouted, panic rising in his voice. “I have never dreaded saying goodbye to someone the way I dread saying goodbye to you-” “That’s why we should have ended this weeks ago!” You shouted back, curling into yourself, getting away from him, fists clenching. “No! That's exactly why we should work to maintain what we have!” He said desperately getting up off the bunk so he was more eye level with you. Stepping into the personal space you were trying to expand. He wasn’t having any of that. “It won't work! It never does!” You said, you could hear your voice rising in pitch, as it often did when you got emotional. “Just because you have been unlucky in the past does not mean we should give up on a good thing!” he said, reaching for you cautiously. “Angel, please understand, I will do whatever it takes…Please do not cut me out. I fear being forced from your life will do more harm than naturally drifting apart over time would do. Do not force me away,” he murmured sadly, taking your hand in his, impossibly gentle. You bowed your head so you didn’t have to look at him. “I’m not going to be responsible for you sitting at home, every night, waiting for some kind of response from me. I don’t want to give you false hope-” “It’s not false hope if there's a real possibility of you answering,” he said quietly. “And what happens if I don't? “ You asked, pulling your hand away. ”This is a dangerous profession, we both know that. What happens if I get hurt, or worse? And you're sitting in your home every night, for months? Years? When do you give up after i'm gone?” “Please don’t talk like that Angel.” He sighed. “Why? Too much of a reality check?” you taunt, biting back even more poisonous words “I think you are just looking for more justification in pushing me away,” Ezra said. He hesitated before he continued. “I understand you have been hurt in the past, but your notion that cutting things off, and shielding your heart from others will do nothing to ease those pains. I will worry about you every night regardless, even if I am not granted the pleasure of hearing from you daily. I will still worry about you no matter what, and I will not give up on hope of hearing from you again, so long as you do not forcibly push me away.” You turned away from him, ashamed of the hurt you would no doubt cause this man. “You should focus on Cee ” you sighed, words bitter in your mouth. “She needs you, and she’ll be around permanently for you once you get things sorted. An adoptive daughter is something much more important than a drifter you met and became acquainted with.” “ ‘Acquainted with?’ “ he asked with an exasperated sigh. “Angel, we are friends, good friends. Please do not devalue the relationship we have built. You are the most trusted friend I have ever had-” “I don’t want to hurt you, Ez-” “Then don’t cut me off!” He pleaded, running his hand through his hair in distress. “Make the effort and I will too!-” “I don’t want to get hurt either! I don’t want to risk it!” “This is bullshit!” His breaths were becoming a little rapid. “ It’s going to hurt no matter what you do! Is it not worth the risk to you?” “No !” you shouted. “No, it never is! I hate the heartbreak and I should have stopped this before it got too far!” “Angel, please-” He pleaded again, voice desperate. “NO! No, Ezra just go.” you sighed, slumping in position.” Please. Our friendship was nice while it lasted. I didn’t mean for it to go this far….” He made a hesitant step towards you, face heartbroken , he tried to take hold of your hand with his own again but you pulled away quickly. “Just go,” you sighed again in exasperation, mind running at lightspeed. He tried to plead with his eyes, searching your gaze, but you just looked away again. “I am sorry I have caused you so much distress,” he said, sorrow thick in his voice and he made his way to leave reluctantly. “I will cherish the time spent with you, I am sorry you will not look back on it with the same fondness,” he added before he finally left, door shutting behind him, achingly final You had not realized, in the time you had gotten close to him, just how much he had sunk his way into your soul. 

You had enjoyed his company so much but ignored just how much his presence had wormed its way deep into your heart. You had been blind to the reality of what would happen once you had made friends with him. And you wished, wished you really had cut things off before it had gotten this far, because the heartbreak racing through your being was far, far worse than anything you could have imagined. It tore away at your insides and you tried to process just what was causing it, the pain of cutting him out, the pain of hurting him, or the pain that told you he was right? You loathed yourself as you realized the only reason you were currently feeling so disgusting was because of your own stubbornness. You felt your knees grow weak as the sorrow crept up on you, the acidic cocktail of pure shame swirling in your stomach, you staggered over and collapsed into your bunk, which still smelt like him. You could not hold your tears back as you cursed yourself for ever letting him get so close to you. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ezra did not show up at his usual time the next morning, and you were unsure if you were pleased or not with that. His absence just made you feel worse and you stubbornly doubled down on the belief that that proved you should have cut him out sooner, rather than accepting he was right.It was easier to delude yourself that admit completely that you were wrong. Hiding from the truth like a frightened child. For the remainder of your journey it felt like he was actively avoiding you, because you had never once seen him in passing whenever you left the safety of your quarters. The night before you landed, a knock at the door roused you. Your heart betrayed you as you felt a rush of elation course through you, he had come back to see you despite everything you had said to him! “Just a minute!” You called to him from your bunk as you rushed putting your prosthetic on. You scrambled to the door unable to hide the relief you felt as you opened the door and saw…Cee. “Uhm, hey," the girl said, looking awkward, "Sorry about this, Ezra wanted to return a book he borrowed but he didn’t want to ‘disturb’ you.” She handed  you one of the books you had leant to Ezra. ”But that’s code for ‘too chicken to come see you’. Turns out he’s a bit of a baby like that,” She continued with an enigmatic smile. “Ah, thank you,” you said, deflating , taking the book, disappointment apparently clear on your face. “I’ll tell him you were wanting to see him,” she said a little playfully as she slinked off. You tried to call out to her to stop but she was quick to disappear into the dark halls and ignored you. With a heavy sigh you closed the door and went back to bed, throwing the book onto your packed belongings as you did so. His absence had done nothing but distress you more. Perhaps it was pride, or stubbornly sticking to your belief that kept you away, but more than anything you were just too afraid and ashamed of how you had acted. He had called you a coward, you were beginning to believe him. You glanced at the book from your position on your bunk, and wished he had returned it himself. But at the same time you were relieved he didn’t. You had planned to be up early, the next morning, so you pulled your leg off so you could settle down properly. Wanting to depart the second you landed, able to avoid seeing him that way, if possible. You couldn’t deny to yourself now that you wanted to see him, but you were stuck in your belief that it was better not to get too close for fear of getting hurt even further. Seeing him again, as much as you wanted to, would just hurt you all over again, because you still believed it wouldn’t work. It was a  storm of feelings inside you, each of them battling each other.  This was why you kept people away. It was easier.

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You were up and early the next day, having packed everything that remained and cleared out your quarters. You elected to hide in your bunk, rather than the foyer that would no doubt be packed with people raring to get off, just in case he was there. But, despite your efforts to hide, he was there anyway. Waiting on the boardwalk outside the departure doors, Cee just a short distance away off to the side, minding her own business. Annoyingly, he stood dead center in the middle of the walkway, hand on his hip as he scouted you out. The stubborn, cowardly part of you wanted to return to your quarters. You could attempt to sneak past him but that just felt childish. The crowd had already dispersed enough now so it was just a gentle trickle of people leaving the ship. So you kept walking , head held high, not looking at him. He caught your wrist anyway, fingers curling around it firm, but gently. “Please let me go Ezra,” you whispered, not meeting his gaze, clutching your bag closer to yourself. “Angel, please, do not do me the disservice of not giving me a proper goodbye. I will never be able to forgive myself if I do not say farewell to you properly.” “Ok, goodbye,” you said, trying to pull out of his grip. “Angel, don’t be childish” he chided, not willing to let go of his hold on you until you relaxed, so you relented reluctantly. He was right, you were being childish. He pulled you into a hug as best he could with one arm, chin resting on your head. “I have missed your company this past week, as I would like to imagine you have done so with me,” he started, holding you tightly to his front as if scared you would take flight. 

“It has given me a taste as to what life will be like now without you and I can ascertain that it is not something that i enjoy. However, I can not deny that despite our time together being so short, I have thoroughly enjoyed what time I have spent with you, and I do not regret one second I spent getting to know you. My only regret is that we cannot continue this, as much as i wish we could. I will not force you to partake in something you do not want, as much as it pains me to say goodbye. You are an amazing, beautiful and kindhearted woman, your help in dealing with the most difficult part of my life will forever be appreciated, and I truly believe your kindness has saved my life. I wish to go on only looking back at our brief friendship with fondness, which is why I wanted to say goodbye properly,” he said, his voice tight. Your eyes were tearing up. If only you could be so open with how you felt, telling him exactly what is going on inside your head, and once again you found yourself jealous of his way with words. You felt them, trapped in your throat, you wanted to express every thought and emotion he had managed to conjure up in you, to tell him of your confusing feeling that had been consuming you. To just tell him that you were sorry and that he was right, because that part of you that cared about him knew that if you just admitted you were wrong there would have been no need for any of this. 

But you couldn’t. You weren’t him. You were far too stubborn for your own good and you couldn’t express yourself as easily as breathing as he could.

All you could manage was to choke out a muffled “Goodbye Ezra” as he held you.

He begrudgingly let you go, pulling you closer for a brief moment to plant a kiss on your forehead.

“Goodbye, Angel” He said. “If…if you ever change your mind, I wrote my contact number in the cover of the book Little Bird returned.”

You finally looked into his eyes, his own reflecting the tears that welled up in yours, pain and sorrow looking back at one another.

You turned your back to him, and with that you were gone.

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TAG LIST @oloreaa​ @chaotic-noceur​

[deathdesu]

Zero Escape ask meme: 1h, 2a, 3c, 5f?

1h. Favorite quote: is it too basic if I say that it’s ‘SEEK A WAY OUT’?  it’s just really memorable to me and I always sing it to the little tune that plays when it shows since the amount of syllables and the amount of notes are the same. seek~ a~ way~ out~ 

2a. Least favorite character: Quark, I guess... I just think he’s more plot device than character and he’s kind of boring. He didn’t feel very defined outside of his relationship to Tenmyouji and he was missing for half of the game he was in. I hated having to look for him over and over. And the way they tried to paint him as sinister and then he wasn’t at all, which was kind of pitiful. Vent Goblin Quark would have been worth the hype they built up around him!  3c. Rank the ZTD teams: Q-Team Best Team > C Team OT3 > Dial D for DISASTER  

but honestly, this order only exists because D-end 2 is just THAT BAD. Unlike D team who I loved for the whole game until that ending soured me on them irreparably, I disliked C-Team for most of my first run and they only grew on me later. I hated the design change for Akane and Junpei - their characterization in ZTD was a bit grating but I understood it. But physically, they were unrecognizable to me. Akane’s face used to be so jolie-laide in 2D pics like this - her long features! her world weary heavy eyelids! nowhere to be found in ZTD design, she was a purple haired doe eyed moe girl. And Junpei already looked like death in 999, obviously there were ways to show his jadedness without turning him into a goth. On both teams the third wheel character was the saving factor. Carlos is pure himbo perfection and Phi just deserved so much better than the shit she was dealt. 

Meanwhile, Q team just grew on me lightning fast with their hilariously murderous found family vibes. They were such a delight I actually felt begrudged having to do anyone else’s fragments. I had never been more endeared to zero escape than I did playing as them. Eric’s fish out of water normie schtick is so great in this cast of hyperintelligent psychic weirdos and his PTSD + losing everyone he ever loved adds depth and sympathy to his largely antagonistic role. Sean is pragmatic but a huge sweetie and just a really well rounded character, and so interesting as a character that both of the other members of his team can see a part of themselves in - he is the perfect leader for Q Team in terms of both having enough empathy to truly attempt to understand them and work with them to be better people, and  being a super-strength robot who is absolutely not taking shit from them once enough becomes enough. You kind of start the game out going ‘oh no who left this small child with the assholes, please save him’ to realizing that actually, he’s got this! AND MIRA. Look, I have wrote my big analysis on how she highlights the themes of ZTD so well, and just. she’s murder wife. I made my animal crossing island Mira-themed what do you fuckin expect from me tbh.  

So if you averaged out my experiences then in truth

 Q team >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> C team = D team 

Sorry, not sorry 🔪❤ 

5f. Rant about something you disliked about the games: Again!? Well alright, let’s see... I’m just going to come out and say it. The payoff of VLR is extremely good, but playing the actual game is torture. I’m honestly convinced it is by design.  The events are so similar throughout, that all the timelines blur together in your memory and it’s hard to discern which events happen when. The bland ass sci fi shelter contrasted to 999′s gorgeous Titanic replica. And unlike in 999 where the character moments were blended masterfully into the escape rooms themselves and what you found at the end tended to differ by a lot, in VLR besides the escape rooms/your partner, you just repeat the same set phases of the AB game until at the very end one character tells you their backstory out of the blue in a monologue. There are also a million same-y bad endings where someone besides Sigma gets enough BP to ditch everyone. God. It’s just... so much. 

There is a certain degree of brilliance to it.  We experience every moment Sigma does, encountering all of these horrible situation where for the time we are powerless. And it's SO frustrating. You really feel what he would be feeling. The complete torture of enduring the nonary game over and over and over with no victory in sight. Like, I hit every plot lock in the game before I got a single ending, so I basically WAS Sigma. But you know....I don’t like being tortured! I hated it! It took me like two years to beat the game because it made me so unhappy to play and I procrastinated on it forever. If I hadn’t been on a flight where I discovered all the other games I brought besides VLR made me motion sick, I don’t think I would have ever finished it. Of course, the catharsis of reaching the end was immense. But it was a cliffhanger, so the kind of immense that also invokes berserker rage...? I really can’t imagine how fucking unhinged I would have become if I was one of those Zero Escape fans who played it ten years before ZTD came out. I finished it a comfortable six months before and I STILL would have fought an army for VLR young Sigma (but NOT OLD SIGMA.) 

[offbeatpride61]

My Perfect Supernatural Ending

Okay. So, like most of the fandom, I was not satisfied with the series finale. I am not going to get into what Jensen, Misha, and Jared said or what the rest of the cast said. This is purely what I would have liked to have seen. I think I also need to state that COVID has probably made things difficult for the ending and that’s partially why something happened in the ending and other things didn’t (that doesn’t excuse shitty writing though). BUT I am not taking COVID into account with my personal headcanon/rewrite/whatever of the ending I was hoping for. Also, I am not a very active member of the fandom; I like and reblog some posts, talk to friends about it, but that is usually the limit of what I do, but I really wanted to share this because Supernatural has been a big part of my life.

TLDR, here are my two cents on how I would have liked things to have gone. 

So pretty much everything that happens in 15x18 stays the same. Jack blows up in the Empty and returns, everyone besides the boys gets Thanos-snapped, and Cas confesses his love for Dean and gets taken by the Empty to save Dean from Billie. Dean still is in emotional shock before he can say anything back to Cas before he’s gone. The whole gig still happens. 

The next episode, 15x19, pretty much stays the same. Dean, Sam, and Jack meet up, Dean finds the dog, the dog gets dusted, we know the drill. At the same time as this, Cas and Billie are together in the empty, because they got brought in together. Billie still has the scythe and even inside the empty, she is slowly beginning to die and degrade. Cas tries calling out inside the Empty, but nothing happens, they are just greeted with silence. With Billie beginning to crumble away, she laughs and tells Cas that, “this was all part of the plan.” Or something like that. She begins to tell Cas about what she read that was so interesting, but we the audience are taken away before we can hear her speak. 

The rest continues on as shown in the episode, they meet Michale, Dean gets a phone call from Cas, Lucifer shows up, Lucifer dies. The trio along with Michale perform the spell and Michael still pleads for his life, and predictably still ends up dying. The brothers go with their ultimate plan to use Jack and his absorption of power to beat Chuck. Here, however, it’s not enough. Jack is only able to wound Chuck before he is blasted away. The group is heartbroken, this was their big last-ditch effort and it didn’t work. Chuck begins his monologue of douchery about how he had won and there’s nothing left that they can do. The sky begins to change, lightning crackles, clouds darken but at the same time remain a bright white. Chuck, in his narcissistic rant, doesn’t notice. The boys begin taking steps back, thinking this is Chucks doing. When suddenly, Chuck stops, looks up, and is immediately greeted with a blast of power from the sky. He is being smited by heaven. 

Here, Jack is able to shield Sam and Dean with what remaining power he has. The light gives way, Chuck is there and still standing, but not as proudly as before. It’s obvious that blast has done something, though nowhere near enough to mortally wound him. Everyone present is confused, staring in bewilderment at one another. Chuck looks up in disbelief, stating that heaven should be empty of angels. Smoke begins to appear in streaks across the sky; Demons are here. Parallel to the fight against Amara, Demons begin to attack Chuck. They aren’t doing much, taking potshots when they can. Finally, Chuck has had enough and blasts everything away. Sam, Dean, and Jack are blown backward a couple of feet. Both Sam and Chuck ask what is going on. Demons still circle the area, but at a distance. Heaven rumbles above them. 

Chuck demands to know what is going on, what have the Winchesters done this time. The boys are just as confused. Then, at the shore, all four of them see it at the same time. A black mass, no bigger than a car is hovering there. It’s the Empty. Suddenly, more back masses begin to appear all around. After a few seconds of silence, nobody moves. Then the pieces of the Empty begin to reach out (much like how it reached how to take Billie and Cas), but it is not taking anyone or anything. The appendages reaching out slowly begin to take on human forms. Then we see, the Empty is bringing out every Angel and Demon that ever died. The realization begins to hit everyone, this is how Heaven was able to bring together its power and how the Demons could coordinate and attack. Dean begins to look around, then he sees Cas emerge from a portion of the Empty. Castiel looks the same, but now either his tie or trench coat is black, and he is wielding Death’s Scythe. Castiel is now the Angel of Death. 

 Everyone’s fan-favorite Angels and Demons are back. Crowley is there with an entourage of other Demons and Rowena. Actual Meg is back and looking around along with Ruby. Uriel is back and leading a group of Angels. Of course, all of the Archangels are back and are ready to fight. (Here I was thinking that Michael and Gabriel maybe convinced Lucifer that their dad wasn’t going to let them live even if they helped him, especially after Michael got dusted.) Here I won’t get into much detail, mostly because I don’t know how to write an action scene. It really boils down to that Heaven and Hell are working together to stop Chuck. It’s a chaotic battle, Angels and Demons are dying left and right, everyone is doing their best to end Chuck’s tyranny. Sam, Dean, and Jack are doing their best to remain out of the crossfire and not die. Through the chaos, Sam sees Azazel wink at him before he’s lost in the shuffle. 

Castiel reaches his new family’s side. Cas briefly explains what’s going on, that Empty released them because through a combination of Jack’s explosion and Billie handing her power to Castiel, they were able to make quite some noise and wake up everyone in the Empty. This causes even more noise, so the Empty can’t sleep, and expels all that are awake. The fight continues, but cuts to Jack as he begins to absorb power from the conflict. The ending here is much the same, in that Jack is then able to finally absorb all of Chuck’s power because he was weakened by the onslaught of Angels and Demons. A lot of Demons and Angels are dead, but the main cast is still alive. The Winchesters tell Chuck that he is going to live out the rest of his life as a human and die; no one will remember him. Here I would add that a final completion to Castiel’s arc of being a soldier that only follows his father’s command (much like Dean) to a being with free will. Cas would tell Chuck that it was said that “one day Death will reap God” and that it will be Castiel waiting for him. 

At this point I’m not quite sure what to do with the now revived Angels and Demons, like Azazel. I came up with two options. The first one being, Jack does right be the Winchesters and gets rid of Azazel and the like to honor what the Winchesters did in the past and puts Lucifer back into the cage. The second option being Jack lets all the remaining Angels and Demons go free to have their own free will, which I like, but that then brings up the problem of the Winchesters not being able to settle down and they have to continue hunting all the bad that was brought back. Or maybe Lucifer decides not to be a dick and work with his brothers in Heaven. Regardless of which option, Jack brings back all life on Earth that was dusted just like the show. Amara is able to become her own being again, but works with Jack in harmony. Sam is reunited with Eileen and they have a heartfelt reunion. Cas and Dean have their moment and Dean is finally able to say “I love you” back. The group are also reunited with everyone from the Apocalypse World. 

The group would head back to the Bunker, Jack included. Jack would do his speech of being handsfree and finally letting humanity and the world have free will. The group would celebrate and have a nice dinner. Going along with everyone left alive after the final battle (option 2) scenario, the boys begin to wonder what to do next. Do they continue hunting or not? Eventually they would say that they deserve to have a life outside of the one that was preordained for them. They leave the hunting to the next generation, but are willing to help with information and research, they are Men of Letters after all. 

There would be a little bit of a time jump, Sam and Eileen are able to have their white picket fence lives that they deserve. They would have some kids, Sam probably went to Stanford and is actually a lawyer now. He is able to have his happy ending with his brother still in his life. Dean and Cas stay at the Bunker, making it their permanent home. Dean becomes a mechanic for a shop in the area, Cas staying by his side (though invisible to everyone else). Dean adopts Miracle the Dog and Cas occasionally allows the dog to ride shotgun. Cas adopts a cat and starts a vegetable garden (in contrast to his new position as Death). Dean and Cas have their own white picket fence life with the occasional dip into the pool of hunting. Not to mention Cas’ new responsibilities. Jack would visit both households, and the entire group would come together on special occasions like birthdays and holidays. 

Eventually the brothers get old and pass on after living their lives how they wanted. Not sure which brother dies first, maybe Dean, but the brothers are reunited in Heaven. Jack watches over them and Castiel joins them when he is able to (which is most of the time tbh). The brothers are reunited with their mom and dad (they are acting like specially before the death of Mary, basically John isn’t an abuser). Bobby is there too along with all their friends whose lives ended too soon. The final scene of the series ends with a “you, me, Cas, toes in the sand, couple of them little umbrella drinks. Matching hawaiian shirts, obviously.” They can rest and relax, because they earned it.

[taiblogcomics]

The Love Boat

Hey there, distractions from current events. Haven't had a restock yet, so we'll be beginning the year with more New 52 Teen Titans terribleness. It'll be fine, I'm sure~

Here's the cover:

I said we were going to save it, but now that she's on the cover, I guess we can rant about this Raven redesign now. Surprise, I hate it! I get that she's starting as a villain now (which is another thing I hate), but the original Raven managed villain while still keeping her cloak and leotard look. I think it's supposed to be feathers covering her face, but I never understood why that was ...anything. I never understood anything about that. It looks silly and I don't know how she sees out of it. Like, she doesn't have to look like the '80s version or the animated design. I've seen good modernised Raven costumes. But this ain't it, chief.

And that's only one bit of the cover! Like, this isn't part of "Death of the Family", but it is sort of an aftermath issue. Hey, know what wasn't part of "Death of the Family" in the end? The "Death" part. Yeah, none of the major characters actually died. I'm pretty sure I've got a trade around here, maybe we can cover that little piece of edgelord dreck for an anniversary someday. Anything else about this cover? Well, I didn't even notice this shining guy at first. That's pretty bad when you have a guy glowing like the sun and yet you completely overlook him when you pull the comic from the shelf~

Speaking of the light guy, think this'll be related? We open with a kid named Kwon Yi, who can manifest balls of light from his body. Unlike a lot of people, Kwon really hates having a superpower, so he's come to a really shady-looking doctor to have it removed. If that sounds like bunk to you, congratulations! You've read a story before. The doctor straps him down and a bunch of sharp instruments begin digging into Kwon's back. He dies as the powers are drained out of him, and fed into an emaciated man who's cackling to himself how he'll soon use all these powers to "lead them out of darkness". Anyway, all of this is foreshadowing and has nothing to do with the rest of the issue~

We join our heroes in a limo together, recovering from the events of "Death of the Family". They're pretty forgiving of Tim Drake for everything that happened, but Tim himself is pretty bummed that he let it happen at all, since he's supposed to be the leader. Cassie is pretty disgusted by the touchy-feely display, but luckily for her, Kid Flash interrupts at this point. He's running alongside the limo, and he's noticed that the limo isn't going to their usual penthouse tower. In fact, it's pulled up at the docks along the Hudson River. Tim mentions that he's gotten them a new place to live, and if you think this is leading up to a reveal of a new Titans Tower for this continuity, well...

...Sorry to disappoint you, but what Tim reveals is a big cruise ship. Yes, really. This is their new headquarters, and while most of them are speechless, Bunker is pretty thrilled. Since it's a cruise ship, it has individual quarters, a pool, a rec room, and so on. It even has a war room that attaches to Tim's own quarters. I really don't understand how a boat is more secure than a tower, but I'm not a former sidekick of Batman's, I guess. The group then breaks to go to sleep, since they're kind of exhausted after all the ordeals of never following a story for a single issue or series.

Kid Flash and Bunker, who have opted to bunk together for security, retire to their room. Kid Flash is, of course, the twitchy sort who can't settle down, especially in a new place. He confesses to Bunker that he doesn't remember any of his life pre-Titans, and Bunker tells him not to worry about it. He gives Kid Flash some actually good advice about how you have to live in the moment, since you can't change the past and the future will come regardless. He mentions that he misses his mom and boyfriend back in Mexico, but he's glad to be here, now, doing what he's doing. This is dramatically undercut by the next scene, showing his mom visiting his boyfriend in the hospital, where he is unconscious and glowing.

Tim Drake, however, did not go to bed. He's a Batman sidekick, being up all night is in his blood. So is monologuing, but it's quickly revealed he's actually talking outloud because he knows Solstice is there watching him. She's come back to apologise again for that bit during The Culling, where Tim was building a case against NOWHERE and didn't help a bunch of kids until he had evidence they needed help. And despite this issue coming out five years before the film, I swear, he does the Spiderverse "Hey" move, and swoops in to kiss Solstice. She protests "what about Kid Flash?", and Tim's all "I don't see him around, do you?" And so they keep making out. Oh good, instead of manufactured "pissy at each other" tension, we get love triangle tension instead.

We get a brief scene of a white-haired kid at a coffee shop getting pissy at how long the customer ahead of him is taking with their extremely specific order, which, like, don't go to a coffee shop, then. He gets pissed enough that suddenly his brain flares in a negative filter and kills all the people in the shop. A policeman comes rushing in to see what the commotion is, and they find nothing but bodies. The mysterious brain guy has already left, drinking the complicated order that the customer in front of him was ordering, deciding it was worth all the detail after all. Wah-wah.

And if you think the teen drama bullshit is going to stop there, Tim retires back to his room after making out with Solstice, only for Cassie to come looking in for him. She's wearing one of his shirts as sleepwear. He allows it, mentioning that he's loosened up since the ordeal of being in "Death of the Family". Cassie mentions that she came in here to "thank" him for helping to deal with Diesel, and the two of them start making out as well. Contrary to what you might expect, just coz I like reading comics about teen superheroes doesn't mean I like teen drama and romance plots~

And it might be a bit more than makeouts, since while it showed Solstice and Tim in full during their kiss, it cuts to silhouette and a shot from the doorway as Cassie and Tim kiss on the bed. Implied intercourse ahoy! And if you think that's creepy, it cuts over to Raven sitting on a throne, swirling a goblet of probably blood, while she uses magic to listen in on Cassie and Tim doing it. Um, ew.

Some old granny ghoul calls her over, saying her father Trigon wants to meet by the blood river, and Raven departs. The last page of the comic closes the story with Tim by himself in the war room, listening to the police reports of the coffee shop massacre, while his eyes glow red, implying he's probably under Raven's control or something.

Ugh, is it too late to go back to the edgelord crossover dreck~?

Seriously, this issue is bad. For one thing, it’s trying to set up, like, five different future plotlines all at once, and thus doesn’t have a consistant tone. And for two... Well, do I really need to say it? The main plot of the story is skeevy as all hell, and really makes Tim come off as a creepo. A lot of bad comics I review on here just make me angry, but this one makes me feel unclean. The sooner this storyline is over, the better. Ugh...

[sakkarose]

Ahhh the infamous Sailor Moon Crystal...

(Minor spoiler warning)

It was my first exposure to the wonderful world of Sailor Moon, so it holds a special nostalgic place in my heart. But nonetheless I have a few problems with the series, and many have only come into light since I finished the manga and PGSM. Here’s a little rant about my problems with the show.

1. THE ANIMATION

Okay okay hear me out. I know everyone says that the animation in Crystal is bad and it might get really repetitive sometimes, but hey, they’re not necessarily wrong.

I mean, YIKES. You’d think that for something as big as a Sailor Moon reboot would have a little more effort put into it’s animation.

But no.

At times it looks like a bootleg version of Naoko’s art. And it honestly is sad to see the gorgeous artwork of the manga devolve into such lazy animation. It would also make sense to conclude that the original art style might be hard to transfer into animation, but that’s no excuse to make Sailor Moon and her guardians look as ridiculous and misproportioned as they are.

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I’m also not a fan of Season 3’s art either. While it is absolutely gorgeous compared to earlier seasons, and the animation is wayyyyy better, it just seems like a copy and paste of Pretty Cure or something. And to see the Sailor Moon Franchise mimic something that it ITSELF inspired is just kinda sad.

2. THE ADDED COMEDY

Now while it’s not my style of comedy, it’s not necessarily horrible. Like I’m sure some people might find those little parts funny.

My problem is that Sailor Moon didn’t need that type of comedy in the first place. When Naoko wrote Sailor Moon the development and interaction between the characters led for some charming moments that could be considered funny. Now, SMC does keep these moments but there is some stuff they added, probably to make up for the laughably bad animation and serious tone, that was just...eh.

HAHA EPIC FUNNY THEY DON’T NORMALLY MAKE THOSE FACES

Going back to when I said it was probably added to make up for the serious tone, it doesn’t matter that it was more serious. It’s no different than the original source material.

And not only was it not needed, but it was executed reallly bad. It just kinda came out of nowhere and every time it was just a character making a weird face. It didn’t add anything. They could’ve added something with the whole Usagi and Rei dynamic that was in the manga, but Rei’s character was completely changed! She lost all her fiery sass! Which brings me to my next topic...

3. THE CHARACTERS

THEY. ARE. ALL. THE. SAME. (Besides Usagi)

The Sailor Guardians (ESPECIALLY THE INNERS) all just kinda merge into the same type of character. They become bland warriors who’s only personality trait is being Sailor Soldiers. And when they’re not finishing each others’ sentences about their destiny they are just all fangirl students. And it’s not only SMC that suffers from this problem, the 90s anime has this problem towards the end of the series. Though the 90s anime had more room to hide this problem through filler episodes that focused on one guardian. But in Crystal nearly ALLLL the attention goes to Sailor Moon.

One thing that I loved about PGSM is how distinct the characters were from Usagi.

Ami was a shy student who earned good grades and had trouble making friends. She was shown to be sweet and kind as well. And she developed throughout the show to become more outgoing and confident with herself. She also improved the bond with her mother.

Rei was a secluded Shrine Maiden who no one really wanted to hang around because of her psychic abilities. She was sassy but not too mean and she was extremely loyal to her friends. Rei also wanted to focus more on the present time more than their past lives’ and she also helped Minako be herself and focus more on the present.

Makoto was tough but also very feminine. She was seen as intimidating at first and became lonely and came to the conclusion that it was her destiny to remain alone. But her friends and Motoki convinced her otherwise throughout the show. She was also one of the most brave Senshi and was willing to sacrifice herself to save her friends.

Minako was an idol who was famous around Japan, but she isolated herself from the other guardians because she was so fixated on her mission. She learned throughout the series that it was okay to loosen up and focus on the now. But Minako also helped Rei become more motivated to fight the Dark Kingdom and save the princess.

In Crystal, the Senshi start out with established personalities, they eventually just lose all of it, which makes it less fun and charming to watch. It’s just Usagi plus some extras who are there to help her.

4. IT’S BORING

Okay I know you’re all probably thinking, ‘Then why do like the manga, it’s the exact same thing?’

With the manga, I can read through it at my own pace which means that I’m able to quickly read through all of those dramatic monologues and speeches the characters have.

In Sailor Moon Crystal, these little spiels seem as if they last FOREVER. They are so stretched out in fact that it almost makes the show a chore to watch. If I had a pie chart for each battle scene I can assure more than half of it would be some speech by one of the Sailor Guardians or Tuxedo Mask.

Something I noticed especially at the end of Season 3 was how the inner guardians kinda just sat there the entire time and then cried when Sailor Moon ‘sacrificed herself’.

This probably ties back to the point made at the very beginning of this rant because the transition from comic to animation was not a good one. It seems almost as if nothing is accomplished throughout each episode. Especially towards the end of each arc. While technically the manga tells the exact same story, it’s much better paced because the reader can go through it at any speed they want.

OH GOD

Also I could go on and on about how the Shitennou were portrayed but that’s a rant for another time, don’t you think? I can get pretty heated with that topic.

Anyway thanks for reading this long rant. This is just some random stuff that I’ve wanted to kinda get off my chest for a while and I finally have the time now that we’re in this quarantine thing. Have a great day!