#How much of that is genuinely the case and how much is denial y'know. ���

[trans-leek-cookie]

its past midnight and time to yap about Mouthwashing. Anyway obviously we don't see the Specific Events only how the characters react but with Anya... Okay I'm going to talk about the Sexual Assault not with Specific Details but that's what the post is about so

Anyways she reads to me as very like... trying to downplay the severity to herself. Like thinking through it (not having the exact quotes but) I feel like it'd be an unfortunately natural reaction- if you were stuck with 4 guys and the guy with the second highest position on the ship assaulted you depending on the situation. I feel like its not hard to imagine you'd try and reframe it as Less Bad to cope because let me be honest if I had to confront the implications of that, mainly the fact he could do it again and I wouldn't have any real way of dealing with it without complicating things even further bc he doesn't just have a close relationship with the guy with the Most Power on the ship, he also is in charge of keeping Me and The Other People On The Ship Safe, i would be in deep denial just to not lose my god damn mind like thats so fucking scary. And then the implication you tried to talk to the captain and even if he wasn't cruel he didn't Understand the Severity of what you were suggesting is like. Besides feeling afraid it could genuinely really fuck with my own perception bc like "if this guy who I trust says he's not a bad person maybe I'm just overreacting?" is. Again unfortunately understandable.

And again I'll say that Anya fully breaks down when the news breaks that pony express is fucked and like. 1. I think that's related to her own finances (and also. Literally just realized the way an abortion could interact badly with "no savings" like I Just Processed that fact. Like I knew "oh if she couldn't abort having to support a child wouldn't just be traumatic but also fucking nightmarish finance wise" but even having an abortion could make things so much harder.) 2. Jimmy LASHES OUT at Curly OPENLY. again based on my interpretation of Mildly In Denial To Cope this would. Like. Really fuck with that because it goes from "I trust the captain and I don't want to be afraid of my crewmate for a year" to "oh he is willing to verbally abuse the captain, who is his friend" and realizing I wasn't overreacting.

I also wanna point to the dead pixel conversation and obv it's symbolic but idk if it's meant as "there's a dead pixel that Anya noticed and she's using the topic to like test the waters" or if it's "anya is literally just trying to figure out Curly's thought process" which isn't like super important but like. Focusing on the way she starts the conversation by saying that she "Likes the illusion the screen has". (I don't remember the exact words sorry) But that's really interesting to me bc obviously you can read into Curly not seeing the dead pixel and instead focusing on the bigger picture (and how the dead pixel "doesn't ruin the illusion") but I think it's really interesting that Anya starts by talking Positively about the screen even though the dead pixel is there (and she can't stop thinking about it)

Like thinking through implications option 1: she's talking about the screen and uses the dead pixel to get a feel for how Curly responds to her bringing up issues

2: she's being entirely metaphorical and still trying to sort of self soothe- seeking external validation that the dead pixel Isn't Actually That Big A Deal (and therefore she's just overthinking)

3: idk how to phrase this exactly but ppl have talked Abt the way she talks to Jimmy, how it indicates a sort of "Fawn" response where she tries to keep him calm with compliments and stuff, and her talking about "enjoying the illusion" is her trying to do something similar with Curly- essentially starting the metaphor by downplaying the issue

Anyway. I don't know if I have a full conclusion but another thing is I think ppl need to acknowledge that while Curly fucked up and harmed Anya (mainly thru inaction). He's not uniquely shitty. Most people will be in a situation where they act similarly, and that DOES NOT JUSTIFY HIS ACTIONS. I AM NOT SAYING CURLY IS ANY BETTER. I am saying that you need to be able to recognize your capacity for harm thru inaction and understand that like. He's not uniquely terrible he's just Normal Levels Of Unhelpful, which in a situation like Anya's is Dangerous

Like. Basically you can say "fuck jimmy fuck curly" all you want but you need to be able to understand that everyone including yourself has the same capacity for harm

[sophieinwonderland]

About the recent post about alter death, I don't think it's always healthy to try to bring an alter who is gone back. My late queer-platonic partner left us half a year ago now. When asked about the possibility of her return, her headmates said that while there was technically a slim possibility, they felt that mentioning it would've been denial.

The truth is that some systems lose alters. Be it by fusing, splitting, a dormancy that outlasts the body, or whatever else. I lost one of the people closest to me, and so did those who literally shared a brain with Her. Grieving hasn't been easy for anyone, especially given that it's hard to find *anyone* outside of those grieving who can truly understand the situation.

I don't know, I haven't read much about the topic, but I think the concept of alter death should be more normalized. I lost someone I loved dearly, and it hurts when people imply that my loss isn't real, that it's not physically possible.

And y'know, I think if any community should understand that experiences are not universal and that scenarios that one might first think of as quite unlikely are very much possible, it's this one.

I'm really sorry for your loss. That's a terrible thing to go through. 🫂

As for my post, I do realize that this won't work for everyone. That sometimes you can try to get a headmate back and you just can't. But on the other hand, I've seen many people who think a headmate is permanently "dead" only to rediscover them later.

I think of dormancy as akin to a missing person.

When someone goes missing, you don't assume they're dead right away. You send out search parties, comb the area, check everywhere they could have been, send out dogs to get their scent. If there's the slightest chance you can find the person and bring them back alive then you do everything in your power to do so.

And yes, there may come a time when you've exhausted all options and have to accept that they may never come back. And you will have to accept that possibility. I mean, even if we say every headmate is theoretically dormant and not dead, there's no functional difference between a permanent death and dormancy that lasts through the end of the body's natural lifespan.

The truth is that the world's understanding of plurality is frighteningly slim. Anyone who tells you with certainty that true permanent irreversible headmate death is possible or impossible is lying to you. Because we just... don't know... We don't know what causes this to happen or if it's reversible in every case, and even my advice on how to reach dormant headmates is throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks based on how I think headmates work in the brain, and that uncertainty is genuinely terrifying.

All that I'll say is that if I went inexplicably dormant, I would hope that my host and the rest of my system would try everything in their power to reach me and bring me back over the following days or weeks. And if I still couldn't be reached... then yeah... they can move on and accept that, for whatever reason, I might be gone forever. But when they did move on, they could at least do so knowing that they tried their best.

Having said that, this is also just me. Some headmates may not want to be brought back from dormancy due to depression or other issues. They may prefer the deep sleep. And that's perfectly valid too. If a headmate wouldn't want to be brought back, then it may be best to not do so. As always, every system is different.

[plural-affirmations]

https://www.tumblr.com/plural-affirmations/735695074784051200/httpswwwtumblrcomplural-affirmations73516197

the problem was never that i feel like i have to justify being plural to myself it's that i don't want to be a system but my brain won't shut the fuck up about it. i don't find the idea of being a system appealing, in fact i'd fucking despise sharing my life with some complete stranger i probably wouldn't even get along with, let alone multiple.

that wouldn't be a problem if i was able to just move on with my life but my brain keeps coming back to the idea and annoying me about it, and as if wasting years of my life trying to find a system that doesn't exist didn't erode my mental health enough, the constant barrage of the same stupid thought over and over and over has made me spiral so much i can't do the slighest bit of self reflection about my "plurality" without my body just starting to ugly cry regardless of whether or not i feel any strong emotion about what i'm saying.

i don't think my brain likes the fact i'm not a system, it's always whined at me if i try to meet in the middle and think i'm monoconscious or median or something so i guess my brain just wants to be a multiple system specifically. good for it i guess i don't really care what the reason is i just want my brain to leave me alone.

Hm. Well, this is just my two cents worth again, but most people who are singlets don't typically spend this long focusing on them being a system or not...? I'm really not trying to be rude or anything, I'm just like... pointing that out.

Like, I dunno. Maybe you're not plural after all, but this genuinely sounds really similar to a system host in denial, and getting upset when it gets brought up, y'know?

Again, I have no way of knowing if that's the case, but. If that's not the case, I unfortunately don't know how else to help you :/ We're pretty stumped on what else say... I'm really sorry, I know that's not very helpful. 💔

Agh, regardless, I hope you have a really good day, anon. Hoping things get easier for you soon. ❤️ /gen /sympathetic

🖤💜💙💚💛

[theredkennedys]

CONTINUATION‼️

Additional note: See Donut's posts with his AU art here, here, here, and here! He's got some stuff over on his blog that I didn't post myself :D

I REMEMBER HOW I DECIDED CHURCH SHOULD DIE.

He's into nerd tech shit and was researching the collider when it went off like in the first movie... basically just died because wrong-place wrong-time..

maybe he was part of something that was trying to stop it,

ANYWAY

Tucker is major depressed. He isn't really willing or capable of moving past the guilt and anger and denial of the whole thing. "Grief often brings the sense of a loss of control" and Tucker feels like he's lost everything.

Another conversation was about Tucker keeping Church's glasses pristine in the case despite the cracks and dried blood. Maybe having a picture of him as well by his bed that he can never stand to look at but can't stomach moving it either.

Debated about whether Tucker's spidersense would flare up really bad causing him to be anxious and overwhelmed losing sleep all of the time or stop working somewhat and leaving him even more out of control in the world without a 6th sense.

He's like that for like? A month I want to say before he gets roped into spiderverse shenanigans. Y'know the weird portal thing, "where tf am I", the whole deal.

Despite his Church dying, it is called the multiverse for a reason. And Church never really dies.

From Earth E-52, meet Epsilon Church. He sucks and I hate him. (Donut's silly guy!)

Going to say this right now, I literally never fleshed out Epsilon's backstory. I don't even know if we gave him a canon event I asked Donut recently and I got head shakes from the studio. But most likely just Allison dying like in rvb.

(*Despite the whole fucked up weirdness of Church's existence and Allison teeeechnically being Church's wife because he's a copy of the Director. Um. I don't really care and I normally just default to Allison being Church's mom in non-rvb canon-compliant AUs. Makes my life easier. Director and Allison have Church and Carolina, Tex has no connection to any of them.*)

Tucker meets Epsilon and jeeeez. Absolutely the worst thing that could happen to this dude at this point. Losing your best friend and then seeing a carbon copy of him, alive, isn't great for the grieving process.

(Donut art)

Epsilon didn't have a Tucker on his Earth, so it's a strange ordeal being practically idealized into this version of yourself you never knew existed.

Epsilon starts working on stuff in the Spider Society and Tucker hangs around just to see him. And of course they have their banter and arguments but then Tucker tries to make an inside joke and Epsilon doesn't get it and it snaps Tucker back to reality that this isn't his Church. Really just a push and pull between them as Epsilon starts to understand Tucker's obsession with him and tries to prevent anything drastic between them.

Donut wrote a fic of that here, which kills me everytime.

(DONUT ART ATTACK)

Tucker stays there all of the time, I doubt he ever goes back to his Earth, it's not like he has anything else to go back to. Though it would be fun for angst to teleport him back for whatever reason and their room is still a wreak and whatnot. Just thoughts..

Tucker has sneaky ways for Epsilon to be forced to interact with him:

And Epsilon hates it mostly just because he dislikes a lot of things but also, he does start to care a lot about Tucker despite everything. And he can start to tell why Tucker's Church liked him so much. He's quickwitted and genuinely smart when his brain synapses decide to connect, and most of all a worthy spiderman.

Thoughts from another friend:

And I agree that Tucker is badass but it takes him a bit to get there even in canon. same with this au I think. After a while he's able to move on from Epsilon and grow by himself.

That's really most of the premise I've thought of, most of it revolves around these two..

Other thoughts:

All the rvb cast are spidermen it just differs how and why.

This isn't a role-fill au where each character fits each Spiderverse character perfectly but. Food for thought. The Director as Kingpin is perfect. Both searching for their dead wife in impossibly fucked up scientific experiments??? Yes please. And the counselor as like Tombstone or something.

And honestly. Tex as something Similar as Doc Ock? Super cool. She would be from the Director's universe, but I feel like there's also a good Tex around the SS..

Tex as SpiderVenom would be awesome as well. Perhaps more of a SpiderOmega lolz..

Carolina . jeez i reaaally want her to work with the Spider Society and Epsilon. She's almost like a leader of it like Miguel. Maybe she has a little Epsilon AI thing.. NOT evil like how Alpha was made but like automated responses and whatnot to help her out maybe. Like the s19 Epsilon (I hated him)

Though Carolina would make a great villian if she was based off of how loyal she was in early PFL. Still so much to think about..

Caboose and Lopez fight over a little Sheila AI. She's like Lyla..

Also Earths (I didn't follow how Multiverse makes them I just had fun):

Tucker/Church (Alpha): A-22-2

Church (Epsilon): E-52

Caboose: BL-002

Kai: 1228

Kai (spiderwoman): 2-280

Grif: 1228

Simmons: 18-2-T

Sarge: RE-42

Lopez: 1820-T2

Donut: 0040-18

Doc: 222-O

If you got this far thank you... I really love this AU despite the lack of significant plot development and I think about it a lot. Perhaps when the next Spiderverse movie comes out I'll have more inspiration on how to continue this :D

my au my rules. this au is literally called Chucker Spiderverse AU in the archived discord thread so be warned oooOoOOoooOo . gay men OoooooOo

writing out the backstory that me and my friend Donut have been working on for the better part of a year, most of it was inspired by the new itsv movie that was released then. and because I don't plan on writing anything huge for this I'd like my brainstorming to have a wider audience.

All art posted is most likely @franklindonuts , aka Donut the cocreator of this shit,,,hey buddy😆 go show him some love pleeeease

you can see my art of this au here

this will 100% be somewhat incomprehensive but hey I'm just a fag having fun and I was born yesterday🧚‍♀️

**

Tucker is the spiderman in his universe with Church as his "guy in the chair". (Putting it out there that this Church is Alpha, which is significant later on.)

They both share an apartment, I don't think I ever specified why but probably for school reasons. They're both young adults, I want to say around 19-21, similar to their Blood Gulch years.

Tucker loves being spiderman. He loves helping people, being almost an idol for people- a lot of jokes were thrown around about that:

Imagine Tucker after he got his sword. He has a genuine purpose now and he's going to be good at it.

but goddd Tucker is Tucker and is stupid and reckless. being spiderman doesn't make him invincible but he loves to think otherwise. he pushes himself too far too often because he knows if he doesn't he wouldn't be able to sleep at night if someone got hurt when he was taking it "easy". Church knows this but he's still pissed off when Tucker comes back bloodied and bruised from a Villain of the Week that he shouldn't have taken on :/

(Donut art)

mental illness

It's literally just the Spiderman Effect. No one will Ever be able to understand what it's like to be spiderman but other spiders, regardless of how much you tell them or show them, they won't get it. and Church doesn't Get it. He's not stupid, he understands WiTh GrEaT PoWeR y'know but there's a mental toll that can't be communicated in a way that makes sense :/

regardless, Church hates it but he also hates how much he cares about Tucker. Cocreator said that he figured they were both close and willing to become A Thing but the time was never right, and Tucker was scared of liking a dude, etc. Normal stuff between these two. But they're insanely close, I'd like to think even moreso after Tucker's whole spiderman thing and the fact that Church also has to realize that Tucker is not invincible.

(despite them not being A Thing, Donut art of The Spiderman kiss and other gay shit)

Now this is the kicker of why I said to take note of the fact this is Alpha Church specifically.

Now I'm aware of the clowning on the whole "canon event" thing and some people's opinion on it (mostly that it's dumb and cliche), but I find it a very unique and convenient way to give a character a significant plot boost.

That being said, Tucker's "canon event" is Church's death.

I don't ever think I solidified how/why he dies, moreso that it's just a wrong-place wrong-time type of thing. Some brainstorming from Donut about it:

but i never asked him for elaboration so I don't know what the fuck he's talking about. anyway

Tucker finds Church similar to how Miles found Peter in the first Spiderverse movie. He doesn't know what to do. He's frantic and scared and horrified that his best friend is coughing up blood with raspy breaths.

(Alpha s10 parallel with tex lalalala)

Obviously. Obbbviousllyy Tucker is distraught and inconsolable. Something something he has the Worst depression of his life. He doesn't know what to do with himself, the one person who knew about everything is gone, and I'm sorry (not) lol but it's not like in rvb where Church revives 8 times before dying like a normal person.

Church was always there for Tucker and he's at a loss of what to do now because, despite the threat of it, he should've never died. It wasn't even a concern in his head ever because it seemed so unlikely.

Tucker doesn't know what to do with himself, he wouldn't have gotten this far without Church. But really, it was All Tucker. All Church did was give him little tech bits to help him function better but it was All Tucker. But he isn't able to realize that through everything and it ruins him.

I will have to make a continuation post because I love adding images and Just hit the mobile limit🧚‍♀️

thanks for reading if you got this far

[backofthebookshelf]

One of the nice things about the way the TMA fandom has reached full large-fandom levels of toxicity is that I no longer care if people get mad at me for my opinions on characters! So, some Georgie meta.

(Because fandom is and always has been Like That, I do feel the need to clarify here that I love Georgie, she's one of my favorite characters, characters are more interesting because of their flaws, and I have no investment in the idea that women or female characters are inherently better or more emotionally competent than men or male characters. If I talk a lot about her relationship with Jon, it's because Jon is our point of view character and also the person she interacts with the most. Also, this rambles, sorry.)

I've been thinking about the Season 4 Jon Trauma post and how much I liked the way it talked about Georgie, and it's convinced me that if Georgie could feel fear, she's the one who'd be most afraid of Jon out of all of them. She's the one protagonist we have whose only interaction with the powers has been as a direct victim of them. She doesn't know what they feel like from the inside, like Jon and Melanie; she doesn't know what they're like when they're someone you love, like Basira; she doesn't even know what they're like as petty middle management, like Martin and Tim. What she knows is that one time a monster ate her (only) friend and traumatized her so badly she spent a year in a suicidal depression.

And now her ex - and yes, Jon and Georgie have a remarkably comfortable relationship in the beginning of season three, but they're still exes and they broke up for reasons, even if we don't know exactly what they are - has turned up on her doorstep, shaking and possibly bloody, with nowhere else to go and no access to his home. He's clearly lying about what's going on. He repeatedly violates her house rules. And then he tells her that he's turning into one of those same kinds of monsters that traumatized her and ate her friend. It's clearly enough to override any remaining affection she had for him, and by any definition he has now positioned himself as a trigger.

(Through no fault of his own: the only real response he has to Georgie's statement is "I can't believe you didn't tell me." She's the one who assumes that he Knew, somehow, that she also had a statement; she's the one who suggests he had alternatives. Both suggestions are plausible but we don't actually know for certain that either are true.)

But Georgie isn't afraid of Jon because Georgie can't be afraid -at least, according to her. I'm not sure how much I believe this in the grand scheme of things; it seems like an extremely unlikely mechanism for one of the fears to have. It seems much more likely to me that she's just never met anything as terrifying as that encounter was, and her subjective sense of fear has been massively recalibrated. In which case not only meeting but having hosted in your home another monster who self-describes as similar to the one that was so terrifying that literal threats to your life are no longer distressing would...probably ping. But she's conceptualized herself as a person who doesn't feel fear; it's even possible that was part of her recovery, identifying this as a possible benefit of what would otherwise have been a universally terrible, soul-breaking experience. She looked existential terror in the face and survived, and came out of it a person who cannot be afraid of anything left on this earth. That's kind of a superhero origin story, and I can't blame her for it. I think anyone with a mental illness has at least tried to find ways in which their suffering has made them a better, stronger person.

But whether she's suppressing and rationalizing away any fear she feels or she genuinely doesn't feel any of it, she does frequently behave as though her lack of fear gives her a more objective view of the situation than anyone else. I don't believe she actually uses the word "just," but it drips from her every interaction with Jon after Dead Woman Walking. Why doesn't he just stop reading the statements? Why doesn't he just quit? And, in Zombie, I honestly can't interpret her reaction to Jon when he wakes up from his coma as anything other than, Why doesn't he just die? If he hates being this so much, if he really doesn't want to be a monster, why doesn't he just die?

I really would like to think that it goes without saying that this is, at the very least, a massive failure of empathy, but she's so explicit about it and fandom spent so much time basically agreeing with her that apparently it doesn't. Not only is Georgie not afraid of the situation, but (and this is the part that makes me wonder if she's not rationalizing, rather than being supernaturally unable to feel fear) she can't possibly fathom how afraid everyone else is, and she never tries. She persists in treating the whole awful situation, as @findingfeather's post says, like this is a mundane problem with people who are refusing to help themselves, rather than a supernatural trap that has been specifically built to be inescapable.

Now, let me be clear, even if she were talking to, say, a drug addict who nearly killed themselves because they were in denial about how much of a problem they had, her attitude would be unforgivable. But in this case Jon had no choice in whether or not to become addicted to statements; it was done to him in such a way that he didn't notice it was happening until withdrawal was already incapacitating. He also didn't have the option to leave, as Tim's extended vacation made clear. And, on top of all of that, the whole reason he was in a coma in the first place was that he was trying to save the world. (Neither he nor she knows at this point that he was doing nothing of the kind, so that's really not relevant.) And - look, when Jon came to her after the end of season two, he was asking for help. When he rejected the kind of help that she offered it was because he knew it didn't apply to the problems he actually had, but she treats that like it's his problem, which is something like offering a leg splint to a person bleeding out from a gunshot wound and getting offended when they tell you that won't work. He was very clear that what was happening scared him and he didn't know what to do about it, and her only suggestion was "walk away," which he literally could not do, for multiple reasons.

She's lucky Jon has pretty much precisely zero self-worth at this point, because anyone else would have cut her off completely for behaving like a fucking asshole.

I say "she's lucky" because frankly, even though she says that she wants nothing more to do with him, she turns up at least twice in the Institute after that, with the excuse that she's picking up Melanie to take her to therapy. I don't know about you, but I have never once gone to someone's workplace to pick them up and gone snooping around inside, and no matter how fascinatingly weird that workplace is, I definitely can't imagine doing so when I know that workplace also contains a person I have definitely decided I never want to speak to again. She goes into the Archives, for Christ's sake, and she listens outside Jon's office door for long enough to catch a bit of the recording before letting herself in (so it's very clear she knows who's in there).

Now I'm not trying to paint her as a monster here; Georgie would hardly be the first person to have second thoughts about cutting off someone they still care about, or to break that boundary that they set themselves when they realize they do still want to know how that person is doing. But the fact is that she positions herself as having the moral high ground in every single discussion they have and that's just not true. She is not literally a supernatural monster, true, but if season four did anything with the concept of monsters it was breaking down the difference between "supernaturally driven no-longer-human" and "person capable of caring and empathy." (That's a whole different meta, though, one that I will get around to someday.) Not that Jon is any better, in that encounter specifically, at dealing with a complicated and contentious relationship - he deliberately goads her, even if he doesn't use compulsion. But that's the thing, they're both exes who have had a falling out and aren't handling it very well. Neither of them is in the right.

All of which makes me really wonder what her relationship with Melanie is actually like. We don't actually see hardly any of it directly, and of what we do, well, Melanie sounds like she's still high on painkillers, so it's hard to take that as an indication of anything. But given that people (who are not intentionally trying to manipulate those around them) tend to, y'know, be fundamentally the same person in their various relationships, though it may manifest in different ways, we can probably make some guesses.

I have always been bothered by, and I really can't ignore, the fact that they were getting together at the same time that Melanie was doing what Georgie has been demanding of Jon since season three: she did whatever it took to get out. I have to wonder if Georgie knows about the nonconsensual surgery part of Melanie's process of getting out, and if she does, if she understands how vital it was. I certainly wouldn't be surprised, if she does know, that she's managed to compartmentalize it: Jon inflicted this terrible trauma on Melanie, Melanie escaped the entity that took her over. (Subconscious implication: Jon is a monster; Melanie is better than him.) I would be very surprised if Georgie is interested at all in the fine distinctions between entities; she's shown no interest in learning what is actually happening to anyone in this situation beyond "it's bad and they should get out of it." But it's relevant, because by the time Melanie makes the decision to blind herself, she's in a much different position than Jon, enslaved by an entity but not consumed by one. She herself admitted to Jon that she would never have voluntarily escaped from the Slaughter.

And given how difficult Melanie finds it to talk about any of this - you can hear her dragging the words out from behind her teeth in her conversation with Jon in Flesh, truly incredible acting by Lydia Nicholas, my god - if Georgie doesn't want to hear it? I can't imagine Melanie insisting. Yes, Melanie is going to therapy, but let me tell you, I've been going to therapy for twelve years now and I have yet to have several of the important conversations my therapists have insisted I have. That shit is hard. But I can imagine a scenario where, having been told by her therapist (who, remember, doesn't have the first idea what Melanie is actually going through, because Melanie isn't telling her about the supernatural so she has to leave out a lot of really relevant details) that she ought to tell her friend/potential girlfriend/new girlfriend about these things, Melanie attempts to bring it up, Georgie says kind and reassuring things and refuses to let her clarify any of the details, and Melanie gives up in relief, thinking, well, I tried. Super valid all around, but it doesn't mean that Georgie has any clearer picture of what Melanie's traumas actually look like, never mind Jon's. There's no world in which I can imagine Georgie actually internalizing the idea that Melanie loved the Slaughter when it had her, and she would gladly have stayed with it if Jon and Basira hadn't intervened.

In Georgie's eyes, Melanie is being a Good Victim. She was hurt but she was strong; she fought it until she won; now she's going to therapy and setting boundaries and trying to heal. She got away.

(Except, of course, she didn't, because as of The Eye Opens no one has gotten away, because this is the entire world now. We have no idea how this has affected Melanie. Presumably she's out of reach of the Eye, given that Jon can't see her or Georgie (and there's some evidence on the side of Georgie's encounter genuinely having stripped her of fear, if she's also invisible to the Eye), but she spent a long time under the influence of the Slaughter. It had her firmly enough that her attacking Jon was enough to give him his Slaughter scar. If nothing else, Melanie certainly hasn't had her fear removed, and talk about a situation bound to retraumatize someone who had such a visceral revulsion to being trapped that Elias chose it as his mechanism of control over her. Melanie probably doesn't look like a Good Victim any more, and I'd bet her relationship with Georgie is suffering some serious strain because of it.)

We don't know when exactly Melanie and Georgie got together; the last time one of them mentions the other is, I'm pretty sure, when Georgie tells Jon that Melanie is back from India. So we know that Georgie and Melanie were friends; that's good, that's a good foundation for a romantic relationship. At the very least they know each other, they have some idea of what to expect. I'd be surprised if they were dating during that season 3/4 hiatus period, though, or frankly any time before Melanie's surgery, just because Melanie seems much too consumed with rage to have room for any other emotions, and I can't imagine Georgie putting up with that.

What seems way more likely to me is this: Melanie comes back from India, arranges to meet Georgie for drinks. Probably they don't talk about anything serious; possibly they talk about Jon, honestly, since we know Melanie was looking for him and Georgie talked to him about Melanie, but very likely in the same "stuck-up pompous ass" way that Melanie talks about Jon in early seasons. (I bet Melanie's roasts are amazing.) Shortly after that Melanie joins the Magnus Institute and then, very likely, either she never tells Georgie about it and therefore they don't talk much or she does tell Georgie about it and Georgie tells her that place is bad news and she won't have anything to do with it and they don't talk at all, until, whichever way that went, the Unknowing happens and Tim dies and Jon winds up in a coma and everything goes to shit. We know Georgie visits Jon in the hospital; we don't know if Melanie does, but frankly it seems unlikely. If they did cross paths during this time, it was probably very brief and superficial. Then: the surgery, and Melanie's recovery.

I'll be honest, I have a hard time imagining Melanie deciding on her own that she should go to therapy. It's possible Basira suggested it, but it really does sound like a Georgie thing to do. So I picture something like this: from the way Basira talks it sounds like they've all been pretty much living in the Archives for a while, and on top of that everyone in the Archives has just badly violated Melanie's trust, so Melanie pulls up her Facebook DMs and talks to the only other person she has. You were right, she says, this place is terrible, I can't handle it, there's no one here I can trust and I'm so alone. And Georgie, who is generous with help and advice (so long as it's accepted) and (like anyone) weak to being told she was right about something, starts talking to her. We know Georgie's got good boundaries, and we know she doesn't want to hear details about what's going on in the Institute, so I can see her saying, I can talk to you, I would love to talk to you, but not about this. For that you need a therapist.

So Melanie gets a therapist, and the prospect of going out amongst the monsters they know are stalking the Institute without that protective shield of rage (never mind the emotional vulnerability of going to therapy in the first place) makes public transit an unthinkable option, so she asks Georgie to take her, and she does, and she keeps taking her to therapy, which is, as far as we know, the only time Melanie leaves the Archives in season four, until she blinds herself and escapes it completely.

And so they have this relationship that's built up almost entirely around Melanie's trauma - with a foundation of friendship, certainly, so I do think that if they are willing to work through it they could make it a working, healthy relationship, but (and again this isn't stated in canon but is my speculation based on what we know about these characters) it is a romantic relationship that's built around the process of Melanie recovering from multiple traumas. Ones that we know that Georgie a) doesn't know many details about, and b) more importantly, refuses to know any details about. Now, I have no experience with romantic relationships and serious trauma; I might be wildly off base here. But. I know that boundaries are important and I know that trust is also important. And if Georgie is holding similar boundaries with Melanie that she has with Jon (and, as I went into excruciating detail about earlier, she has very solid emotional reasons to protect herself with those boundaries), that's drawing a hard line around what's basically the past two to three years of Melanie's life, and undeniably both the worst and most important things that have ever happened to her. That seems...difficult to manage in the long term.

(This is a bit more of a stretch, more of the germ of a fic idea than an argument I'm prepared to defend, but I also would not be surprised if Georgie told Melanie that she wouldn't date her while she was still working at the Institute. That's a very reasonable boundary, and it's good motivation - and probably healthy motivation, I do like the idea that Melanie had something to reach toward in escaping the Institute, not just the desperate flight from - but it's also something of an ultimatum. Which is not inherently bad, but it is the kind of thing that can fester, given other problems.)

Now it's entirely possible that Georgie isn't that internally consistent. People aren't! (See: Basira's attitude toward Daisy vs her attitude toward Jon in season four.) Maybe she's more flexible about being willing to listen to Melanie, maybe she's starting to understand some of what was happening and how genuinely impossible a situation it really was. But that has to be a struggle for her, too; it's not a perfect, sweet, unconditionally good situation that teaches you that you've been unfair to the point of cruelty to someone you used to care about. And by the time the apocalypse rolls around, Melanie is, if she's lucky, just barely able to say she's healed from the plain physical trauma of blinding, never mind all the other baggage. They've got to be having a rough fucking time of it, at the very least, even if you assume that they're suddenly both the kind of people who will sit still and listen supportively and talk honestly about their own messy and complicated emotions, when neither of them have been that kind of person before.

(Another disclaimer because Fandom Is Like That: This is in no way a condemnation of or argument against fluffy What the Girlfriends fic; fic is for making fluffy things that you want to happen to your faves, or building fluffy content that you desperately need for whatever reason. Gods know there are plenty of unhealthy parts of Jon and Martin's relationship that I ignore in most of my fluffy fic. This is me attempting to work through my thoughts and feelings about the relationship I see in canon in the hopes of actually being able to write some fic about these girls myself someday, because I personally can't write fic until I understand canon, and so much of them happens offscreen because they're not main characters, and they're written with such depth and complexity that you can't just slap a stereotype on them and call it good. Which is awesome! But it means I gotta do the work, and I post it because a) it's work, and this is fandom, and I want validation; and b) I'm hoping other people have insights that might also help me clarify my thinking.)

[reminisced-turnabout]

I'm back with another post about my experiences with Investigations and it's on Turnabout Reminiscence

As usual, spoilers under the cut

I wasn't sure of what to expect...

----

I was excited to play this case. A case where we get to see a young Edgeworth interacting with a young Kay and a young Gumshoe? A chance for my favourite character to finally goddamn show up? Sign me up

I definitely wasn't expecting that the first person you speak to was Manfred. Genuinely, I gasped when he appeared. In the main series, you don't ever see that cane of his but here you do. I like the overwold sprites of him pointing with it and slamming it into the ground. Sure, it was brief, but I'm just happy that he was even in the game lol

I should've seen it coming but I also didn't expect a 13-year old Franziska to appear. Here, we really get to see how competitive she was. Literally, she dragged Miles into a competition to solve the murder case (and, yes, Manfred got them permission to basically run the show). She also liked to bully Miles with her riding crop. I greatly enjoyed the banter between the two throughout the case. And her curtsey animation is still one of my favourite things ever

Kay was adorable (to be expected). It was hilarious to see her sneak up behind Bratworth and kick him before running away (there was a lot of Bratworth abuse in this case, huh?) It was tragic to learn that that was the day that her dad was murdered. And her only friend at the courthouse, Gumshoe, was being accused of murdering him. Poor kid

She also had an ally in a new character introduced in this case: Tyrell Badd, a detective that worked closely with Kay's dad (who was a prosecutor). She called him uncle. Honestly, I really like his near monochromatic design and cool theme

Another character's design and theme I really liked was Calisto Yew's. She's a defence attorney (and part of the smuggling ring we keep hearing about). I wasn't expecting her to laugh so much. Especially at Edgeworth. It was a reminder that he's so young and inexperienced (he's only 20!)

Speaking of inexperience, it was interesting to see how Edgeworth was during his Bratworth days, especially compared to his present day self. He had a burning desire for justice but a narrow world view (thanks Manfred), which manifested as this mantra of "I will find all criminals guilty with the perfect evidence". He also had this self-importance that was soon challenged by the adults around him (Yew mocked him, Badd treated him like a child until he earnt his respect). Franziska had the same kind of attitude and got the same treatment

Miles and Franziska also had a lot of respect for Manfred. It's tragic how much they looked up to him and tried to emulate him. There were a few moments where their animations would mirror his (not just the crossed arms, there was a moment at the start where both Miles and Manfred did that finger waggle)

It also seems that, in this game, whenever someone is losing in their argument, they like to cite Manfred's apparent corruption to dismiss Miles. In the last case, in the present, Lang's comments simply made Edgeworth flinch. In this case, in the past, Yew's comments were seen as a personal attack by Miles and Franziska (especially Fran). They were offended

There was also this denial from young Edgeworth when he heard that Mr Armano (y'know, family friend) was part of the corruption scandal that these murders were related to. He believed that Badd was mistaken when he told him

It makes me sad to think that Miles and Franziska were so naive to the corruption. They were in this idealistic little world. Then they grew up... and were haunted by Manfred's legacy, even after his death...

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I thought about WandaVision

Y'know, it's kind of crazy to think that it's been over a year since we've been given any content involving the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel Studios announced so many great movies, on top of new TV shows that actually impact the story, way back in the summer of 2019. But then 2020 happened. Resulting in everything, and I mean everything, we were promised getting pushed back for another year. So, when it was finally announced that the series WandaVision was, at last, ready to be released, fans were both excited as well as skeptical. Because the first thing that would reintegrate us back into this franchise would be a show about how two Avengers are stuck in a sitcom. It might be new, long-awaited content, but it also doesn't sound all that interesting. Could a story involving two characters who have yet to stand on their own be enough to carry a brand new adventure? Well, for eight whole weeks, fans were given that answer. And personally, I will admit that WandaVision might have been better than anybody could have ever expected...for the most part.

(Final spoiler warning if you haven't seen the show yet)

WHAT I LIKE

It Just Goes: This is easily the best way the series could have started. We are given no context about what is going on. We're just shown that Wanda and Vision are currently stuck in a sitcom, and that's it. By making it a mystery, fans are given this sort of interaction with the series as they find clues and come up with theories about how and why this happened. Sure, some assumptions were more far fetched than others (did people think Mephisto was confirmed just because of one misinterpreted line involving the Devil?), but it still makes the show a ton of fun to watch. Plus, even when we're given answers, it's only tiny pieces of the puzzle. We're always given a chance to figure out the bigger picture, resulting in an image that is, I'll admit, somewhat satisfying to see. Just as long as you ignore the crybabies who get upset that their favorite theories turned out to be wrong.

The Homages are on Point: I also love how straight the cast and crew play with the idea of two superheroes being stuck in a series of sitcoms. Everything they use fits in the era each sitcom takes place in. With things like camerawork, set design, special effects, acting quality, tropes, and even theme songs, everything works as a proper homage than just having two episodes in black and white and the rest in color. Each new sitcom that Wanda and Vision are rebooted in feels so genuine, to the point where they seem like they could be actual shows that could have existed. Seriously, my dad showed me stuff like The Dick Van Dyke Show when I was a kid, so trust me when I say that the very first episode nails the style that it's honoring. Not only is it charming as all forms of hell, but it also works in making these moments when characters break from the spell (get it) all the more jarring and even disturbing at times. Because when you're so keen on watching what seems like a fun and cheesy sitcom, you feel a bit unsettled when a character suddenly acts in a way that's a tad foreboding. Still, it's fun to watch and is easily the central hook for what makes this show work.

The Comedy: The homages also nail the comedy that came from each type of sitcom. The jokes fit with each period, from the cheesy and charming 50s to the cynical and dry 90s and early 2000s. It's another thing the writers play straight with, and I think it works. The only jokes made by most stories like this are just pointing out that these serious characters are stuck in a silly sitcom. Instead, the writers tell jokes that work for the period it's in, and it is all genuinely funny if you're used to those types of goofs and gags. If you didn't laugh, that's because the comedy isn't trying to reach out to you. It's reaching out to the people who actually watched these types of sitcoms. Or, in my case, the type of people who had their parents show them these types of sitcoms. And even then, I still think there are these lines and deliveries that are still funny even if you don't get the joke. For example, there's this brief moment with Vision and a toy baby that got a genuine chuckle out of me for how absurd it was. I wasn't expecting to laugh that much, but on top of the many surprises this show gave, being funny was definitely one of them.

“My husband, and his indestructible forehead”: He...hehe...hehehehahahaHAHAHAHA! AH! HA! HA! HA! 

*Slowly starts sobbing*

>Squeaks<

I see what you did there.

Paul Bettany as “Vision,” “Vision,” and Vision: Can we give Paul Bettany a round of applause for basically playing three different characters, each with their own varying levels of emotions and purposes? Because goodness gracious, this man is a champion! I've seen tons of people praise Elizabeth Olson for her performance as Wanda, and to be fair, she does do a fantastic job...aside from one blatant issue (which I'll get into later). But as great as Olson is, Bettany still deserves some credit. Throughout most of the series, he has this level of comedic-timing that I didn't even know he was capable of, by going ham or just having a dry wit. Seriously, was someone going to tell me that Paul Bettany can be funny, or was I supposed to find that out for myself? On top of being hilarious, Bettany delivers such raw emotion that none of us would have ever expected from this character. That screaming match “Vision” has with Wanda shows the very first time that any version of him has ever been angry, and Bettany does a great job at making that moment as jarring as it needed to be. And that's just from playing one version of the character! I didn't even talk about how he nails the naive yet still wise Vision from the flashback in "Previously On" or the cold and robotic "Vision" from "The Series Finale." Bettany has range, and WandaVision is a great show that proves how. One just needs to have the right amount of vision to see it (HhhhhhhhhhhHA!)

Developing Wanda: But as great as Paul Bettany, and to a lesser extent, Vision, is, Wanda Maximoff is clearly the star of the show here (And yes, I know that it's Wanda who's the character and Elizabeth Olson is the actor, but...I'll get into it!). If WandaVision has taught me anything about these Disney+ shows, it's that we are finally going to get some long-awaited development to characters that are starved from it. And Wanda definitely needed it. Don't get me wrong, Wanda was great in past movies but wasn't that compelling of a character. Here, trust me when I say that the opposite is true. 

We are given a deep dive into not only Wanda's morality but also her psyche. The writers really play around with how scary Wanda can be. As well as questioning if Wanda has the capability of being evil. Because, yeah, what she did was not right. True, our "heroine" was going through some rough s**t, but that doesn't excuse the amount of torture Wanda put the people of Westview through, no matter how unwittingly. Just look at that scene where everyone grills Wanda about what she's doing to them, not only pleading for whatever compromise they can get and even begging for her to kill them instead. That is dark! That is the darkest concept the MCU has ever offered, and the ending of Avengers: Infinity War exists!

But, while it doesn't entirely excuse everything, there is a reason why Wanda did all of this. You see, throughout WandaVision, Wanda goes through the five stages of grief. It all starts with denial as she pretends to live in a sitcom that she created where Vision is alive, and they get to even have kids together. Soon comes anger when she destroys anything and physically harms anyone that tries to bring her back to reality. Next, there's bargaining as Wanda strengthens her hex and expands it to keep outsiders out and keep Vision in. This leads to depression as the weight of all of Wanda's actions finally sinks in, and she's forced to realize the damage she's causing. Until all of it ends with acceptance, as Wanda finally, finally, gets to say goodbye to Vision. Something she never really got when Thanos ripped the mind stone out of Vision's forehead. It's both incredible to watch as it is fascinating. Wanda, through the course of her own little spin-off series, just went from a decent character to one of the most intriguing to dissect in the MCU. And we have this show to thank for it.

The Commercials: These commercials offer three things.

They're more homages to classic television, each product and filming for each one honoring how commercials looked in each era.

They offer more of an insight into Wanda's psyche as we see how each commercial shows bits of her history, regrets, and deepest desires. You see all of the above in the Lagos' paper towel commercial.

There are neat bits of foreshadowing of what's to come, like how Hydra Soak ends by saying it's for "your inner goddess" or how the 90s commercial ends by saying Magic isn't meant for the weak.

With all of that, these commercials are as fun to analyze as they are disturbing as hell.

The Dinner Scene: This was the moment it was clear that WandaVision wasn’t going to just be fun and games. The second that "Mr. Heart" starts screaming at Wanda about why she and Vision came, it becomes clear that the whole wacky scenario our heroes are in isn't as harmless as we all thought. And when "Mrs. Heart" playfully tells her husband to stop it when “Mr. Heart” starts choking, only to desperately scream at Wanda to stop it, audiences begin to piece together that the people of Westview are prisoners--no--victims. As for Wanda? She's the unknowing dictator forcing them to do what she says. And it was this scene that I knew I was going to really enjoy this show.

The Blip Scene: And it was this scene that made WandaVision skyrocket into top-tier MCU territory! As much as I love Spider-Man: Far From Home, I will admit that making a joke with the concept of something like the blip might not have been the best move. But showing the chaos of everyone coming back all at once? On top of showing the confusion that a person would have from being told that a five-second nap was five years? Yeah, that's more in line with what we want.

Returning Characters: Not only was I surprised by the fact that these pretty minor characters in the MCU made a return at all, but I was also shocked to find out they work better in this series than they did in their respective movies. First, there's Monica. Not only is she reintroduced as a brand new hero (with, admittingly, confusing superpowers), but she also works as the anti-Wanda. Both characters had someone they care about dearly die without getting a chance to say goodbye. The difference is that Monica doesn't have the abilities Wanda does and is instead forced to quickly accept that her mom is dead and won't come back. She even admits that she would bring her mom back if she could. But that just makes Monica the perfect person that Wanda needs. A person that understands where she's coming from and tries to convince Wanda to do the right thing, no matter how hard it is. Monica's methods may have been a tad bit sloppy, but she is still ten times more intriguing than that little girl who screwed around with the color scheme on Captain Marvel’s suit.

Then there's Jimmy Woo, who is both funnier here than in Ant-Man and the Wasp, and actually shows signs of being a competent FBI agent. A step up, I might add, from the hilariously incompetent character we saw in his previous appearance.

And also, Darcie is here...and still slightly annoying...but at least she still has a couple funny lines here and there! Which is more than I can say with Thor and Thor: The Dark World.

In my opinion, it's a good move having these characters with pretty small roles in vastly different stories make a return. It shows that they are not limited to their one little corner of the MCU. And that they can branch off into taller tales that suit them perfectly. It's pretty cool, and it makes me wonder what other small characters could make a triumphant return.

Billy and Tommy: These two are...fine. Billy and Tommy give me Zach and Cody vibes sometimes, the kids playing them do a decent job, and they both offer some great emotional moments. The problem is that out of the list of characters that WandaVision introduces and reintroduces, there's not much to talk about with Billy and Tommy. Honestly, the only reason why I briefly mentioned that I like them is that I don't want dozens of people crucifying me for not saying anything about them. I don't hate them, but I don't much care for them either.

Evan Peters as Quicksilver: Although I would have loved it if it was Aaron Taylor-Johnson who made a return, seeing Evan Peters in a good Marvel movie again is more than worth it. He plays a much more fun version of Quicksilver while still nailing the sibling relationship the character has with Wanda. In a way, it's a lot like how Marvel cast J.K. Simmons as J Jonah Jameson at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home. It's admitting that no one could have played the character better than this one actor and briefly making fans happy in the process. While also not doing something crazy like having it be the exact same Quicksilver from the X-Men movies. Only f**king idiots would believe something like that...

...

...But hypothetically speaking, let's say some people were stupid to believe that. While making an outrageous claim that the writers "lead them on to doing so." In which case, I will say the same thing that one would say when friend-zoning someone: "Nobody led you on to s**t. You were just too busy focusing on what you wanted to see instead of what you needed to see."

Because there was no evidence that it was the same Quicksilver other than the fact that it was the same actor. And, hypothetically speaking, if there were dozens of crybabies who were upset about it not being the same Quicksilver, then I have so much more respect for this character being nothing more than a boner joke. Because you did this to yourselves...hypothetically speaking.

Retconning Wanda’s Powers: ...I'm ok with this. Retcons happen all the time in the comics, as well as in movies and television. It's just a matter of making the retcon believable enough where there are few holes in what you're telling people. As for Wanda apparently having magic this entire time, but the mind stone amplified her powers? I can buy that. Besides, it's an acceptable excuse to make Wanda as powerful as she is in the comics (from what I've been told), so like I said, I'm ok with this.

“I can’t feel you…”: ...That's fine. I didn't need my heart anyway.

“Vision’s” Talk with “Vision”: Forget the horrible CGIed battles. I want more of this!

Now, I put both Visions in quotation marks because while they're both the same character, they're also...not the same. Which is, funnily enough, what this scene is: A philosophical discussion between two versions of the same android about what makes them both/neither the definitive version. One may look the same, and the other may be the same body, but neither "Vision" really is the true Vision. However, the fact that these two stop their fighting so they can have this discussion in the first place helps secure that while different, they are still the same. It's a thought-provoking discussion, and it is ten times more interesting to watch than Wanda and Agatha's CGI fight in the sky. Although it is kind of odd that White-Vision just peaces out the second Hex-Vision gives him a reboot. But hey, that's for the future movies to deal with.

“Thank you for choosing me to be your mom.”: >Deep inhale<...Girl.

Wanda Saying Goodbye to Vision: >DEEPER INHALE< HOOOOOOOOOOO BOY! I did not expect this much emotional turmoil from f**king WANDAVISION!

Joking aside, this is a well-handled scene. It's incredibly emotional to see these two characters say goodbye to each other as their arcs come to a close. "Vision" peacefully leaves knowing who he is in the world, and Wanda can finally start moving on as she gets to say goodbye to her one true love. It's as bittersweet as it is beautiful.

WHAT I DISLIKE

MCU logos flashing in every episode: You know how CinemaSins has this bulls**t excuse about how the MCU opening logo wastes time to get to the good stuff? This is the only instance where that's applicable. Because the opening logo was cool to see again for the first episode, but having it play in every single one after breaks the immersion when trying to binge the series. It's for a couple of seconds, sure, but after a while, it does get pretty annoying.

Elizabeth Olson as Scarlet Witch: Now, to be clear, I have no problems with Elizabeth Olson's acting ability in this series. She juggles being funny, heartbreaking, and threatening so well that I am likely to laugh and cry with her as I am to s**t my pants while in her presence. Elizabeth Olson does a great job with this character. The problem? Well, in the comics, Wanda Maximoff is Roma, and Elizabeth Olson...isn't. This means that WandaVision, and the MCU as a whole, has a bad case of white-washing.

I could go on about the issues this brings, but I am not as educated about this subject, and all I know is just stuff that seems like common sense. For instance, I believe it is more than reasonable to hire an actor of a specific race or ethnicity for a character who is of a that same race or ethnicity. But that is as far as my knowledge and personal stance goes, and to expand on it would be too much of a risk because I have no right to criticize the representation of something I am not a part of. So instead, I'm going to point you to @earnestdesire‘s blog and Jessica Reidy’s article on the subject. They do a great job at discussing the issues with Olson’s Wanda and pointing to the issues the MCU has in representing Wanda and Pietro's representation in the comics. And they do it in a far better way than I ever could have. So check them out to truly see why, despite doing a great job, Elizabeth Olson should not be the person donning the suit.

It Was Agatha All Along: AND I STILL F**KING HATE THAT!

I know, I know, I am in the minority on this one. And I still don't understand why! To me, Agatha has all of the problems that Hans has in Frozen. Sure, there are hints if you pay more attention during a few select scenes that are slightly questionable. Like how she refers to Wanda as "the star of the show" or coincidentally shows up with a dog house for Sparky. However, much like how Frozen didn't need a villain like Hans, WandaVision didn't need a comic book villain like Agatha. The story was perfectly passable as a personal conflict involving Wanda's grief where the only obstacle was the director of S.W.O.R.D. and his agents. There is nothing Agatha adds to that.

"But she helps Wanda find out what happens!" Yeah, but Monica could have done the same thing by actually breaking through to Wanda and calmly asking what happened. From then on, they could have worked things out together by having Wanda retrace events that transpired through the information that Monica knows as well.

"But Agatha helps Wanda realize what she's doing is wrong!" So could Vision! He could have shown up, did that mind-meld thing to the townspeople, and Wanda would finally learn what she was doing was wrong through the person she trusts the most.

"But Agatha helps Wanda learn that she's the Scarlet Witch!" Ok...but did that need to happen in this series? Because when you think about it, when the central conflict is all about exploring Wanda's grief, throwing in this narrative about becoming the Scarlet Witch has little to do with anything. Meaning that if you cut it from the story, little would change other than cutting a CGI battle that everyone agrees is the worst part of the series.

The most Agatha adds to the story is a secondary conflict that could easily be cut, and the overall quality would stay the same, if not better. And that is a problem. Agatha needs to add to the central conflict in a way that no other character could have. Like, give her a reason to be involved in Wanda’s life that goes beyond feeding off her magic and leading Wanda to her destiny. Because as is, even if you argue that Agatha is a good twist villain, she's a villain that really didn't need to be here.

Director Haywood: But as much as I don't like Agatha, I think we can all agree that Director Haywood is the worst villain in the MCU. Because one issue that Haywood has is a lack of motivation. For instance, why does he try so hard to write off Wanda as this supervillain? It was never explained, and for something so bizarre and crucial to his character, I feel like it needed to be. It would be passable if he was motivated out of fear and ignorance, but Haywood goes so far as to misedit security footage to prove his point. And I don't get why.

Is he sexist?

Did Wanda not show up at his kid's birthday party?

Did he secretly want to use Vision as a sexbot and didn't want Wanda to get between them?

I don't know, and I'll never know.

Plus, on top of having no motivation, Haywood is just forgettable. Agatha may piss me off to no end, but at least I'll remember her. I honestly forgot Haywood's name half the time, and I'm willing to bet that you did too. Case in point, his name isn't even Haywood. It's Hayward. And in the off chance that you didn't even know about that misspelling just proves my point about how forgettable Hayward is. While it's one thing to be hated, it's another to be forgotten. Because that just means that you left so little impact that you aren't even worth getting upset about.

------

And that is what I thought about WandaVision. If I had to base this off my usual score, I'd have to give the show the same 7/10 that everyone else gave it. Because there's a lot that I love, but the stuff that I hate is so problematic that it takes the WandaVision down on a couple of notches. It's still a fantastic series with a solid story, a great message, incredible acting, and phenomenal character development. It's just that not everyone is going to be willing to tune in as much as you might think.

[sharonisthebettercarter]

the people in denial about this genuinely worry me.

billy butcher is genocidal.

i love him (both actually) as a character, he's very intriguing and entertaining, utterly fascinating as a case study. but that sumbitch knows he's a horrifically evil person and chooses to do whatever horrible act that comes to mind anyway.

homelander was raised specifically to not be able to tell the difference/believe that he is above humanity and therefore 'exempt' from limitations/rules of morality (ironic, because he still obeys them most the time, unfortunately people taught him how to disobey and get away with it, and now with crowds of people makin' him realize they don't give a shit...)

because he doesn't even believe he is human. he's been dehumanized and preconditioned to that level.

but billy is legitimately genocidal over a group he *knows* includes innocent people and *children* over the actions of a *single* person.

"punish only he who has committed the crime"

collective punishment is a literal war crime and also billy's favorite--

he gives absolutely no shits about any other victims. his revenge boner is 100% driven by his pride 'as a man' because another man 'sullied what was his' or 'touched his property' or 'invaded his territory'. take your pick of poison phrase, but that is the play.

that is the only play for butcher...

had he really *really* cared about what becca/becky had to say?

he'd fucking *listen* to her, the actual voice of the actual victim, instead of amassing piles upon piles of dead bodies she never asked for nor wanted, and plastering her name at the top of the macabre hill he's built.

she would have felt *safe* enough to confide in *him*, instead of keeping it a secret/going to vought because she was *afraid* of his reaction.

it still disgusts me how just how fucking little fandom seems to care about what *becca/becky* actually wanted, and how billy treats her as a result. like this shit ain't hidden, it's literally outlined in *plain site*, *shown* to us in the fucking story.

he *adds* insult to injury. he makes everything *worse* for her. and that doesn't even begin to cover just how much his dependency on her was *destroying* her to begin with.

and the thing is, he fucking knows.

but fandom misogyny rears its ugly head again, guess what--to protect *the man*. nevermind kimiko or starlight. and who were those other women butcher mistreated? not important, right? or y'know? let's just blame homelander. billy does and he's the 'main character', hughie doesn't exist so butcher *must* be right--

instead, billy makes it about himself and what *he* wants. he uses what happened to becca, the actual victim, as an *excuse* to be his worst self--which she fucking hated!

world's shittiest fuckin' husband--.

and then there's the genocide. that shit actually scares me. we shouldn't have genocide apologists in the world, let alone in *this* fandom of all things, the boys fandom, the comic AND show that make the clear cut point that *GENOCIDE* is *UNJUSTIFIABLE*, in every and all circumstances--no excuses.

you throw in the fact that billy is also a fuckin' rapist in the comic and homelander isn't even *the* rapist who hurt becky, he was after the wrong guy from the start, and it just goes to show.

we could have rational, reasonable, and understanding *non-ableist* people that could get that homelander is confirmable as *clinically* criminally insane and needs *help*. not a madman purposely trying to make him explode and destroy the world.

we could have the grooming apologism with madelyn stillwell addressed instead of purposely ignored so people don't feel bad about being horny, when they can *very easily* be horny *and* address that shit respectfully. (AND tag their shit accordingly!)

we *could* have people not excuse literal fucking genocide because they are so damn media illiterate that one of the biggest, SIMPLEST, messages of the series just flies right over their heads.

THIS AIN'T HARD. GENOCIDE = BAD. WAR PROFITEERING = BAD. CAPITALISM = BAD.

we could have nuance and conversations about this shit that actually give it the time of day, spread awareness, bring that understanding, and then move on with our lives with people as free to be as horny as they want!

and i'll be fair, i'll give credit where it's due that it at least happens *sometimes* for *some* things.

but no.

we can't have nice things... for... some reason i guess.

mm is better than both these motherfuckers--

[juiceboxesheadcanons]

Yo your headcanons are very poggers, do you think you could do headcanons for the adultrio with an ace s/o? Just in case you don't know, ace in this case means asexual so basically doesn't experience sexual attraction :3 Sorry if your not comfy with that, I didn't see anything about it in the rules so why not ask y'know

YESSSS I CAN!! And you can request anything that’s not against the rules!! I don’t get uncomfortable by literally anything, I just set boundaries for illegal things! THANKS SO MUCH FOR REQUESTING!!! 😁🧃 (and for the poggers it made me smile ngl)

Adult trio with a asexual s/o~

a/n: headcanon count: 30 | this does contain things about sexual intercourse and being asexual, so if you’re against the lgbtqia+ community fuck off and go to hell, but if you’re uncomfortable with this topic just scroll and you’re valid! 🥰🧃

Chrollo

🧃 he doesn’t actually mind much (stan him)

🧃 he isn’t that into sex or anything of that sort to the point he won’t date you because of it

🧃 he probably will read more about it so that he can understand more about what this is and why you feel this way about intercourse.

🧃 if he saw anybody making you uncomfortable by saying sexual things, quick kill +10 points 😁

🧃 the troupe and you wouldn’t be an issue because let’s be honest a couple of them are probably ace as well

🧃I feel like he’s either in a relationship for the benefits of information or a persons personality. He isn’t a player who just wants sex so it’s fine it’s good!

🧃 he wouldn’t treat you any differently from anybody else such as treating you like a innocent baby (shoyo hinata in every mf haikyuu texting video) and he wouldn’t just be straight out “bro why don’t you like sex?? I could change your mind!”

🧃 might hang up a ace flag or two and if he had time go to a pride event but unlikely because of his schedule 

🧃 nobody will invalidate you when he’s around, he would kill them like a fly

🧃 you being ace never will affect the relationship and he loves you just as much as if you did enjoy and feel sexual ❤

Illumi

🧃 like chrollo he doesn’t even mind, probably doesn’t even know what asexual means at this point because you know, uneducated mf

🧃 I feel like Illumi could be asexual, but then again he is married to hisoka so not quite sure?

🧃 he has to look up what it is because growing up in a “kill, money, life is war” household they didn’t bother teaching him about sexuality and his mom is probably a homophobe. silva probably isn’t tho because I feel he’s the one who approved of the hisoka x illumi ship in the first place

🧃 when he finds out what asexual means after 48 websites, and 92 computers he just is like “oh, that’s nice.” idk what else could he say? He probably never was the person anybody would come out too like that bc yk the DEATH stare-

🧃 if he saw somebody making you uncomfortable he wouldn’t kill them cause he sees it has a waste of energy but threaten them to the point oh hell nah they just finna jump off a cliff afterwards 

🧃 but if somebody invalidates you it’s a different story. “come on y/n, I’ll handle them. just go wait in the car.” 

🧃 that person never saw the light of day again. fly low I guess🥰

🧃 he wouldn’t really care if you were ace cause yk he isn’t a giant fan of doing “it” such as others. I mean he thinks it’s nice but he doesn’t just NEED it

🧃 he honestly thinks you’re great if you enjoy intercourse or not

🧃 but still is confused about what asexual is :’)

Hisoka

🧃 okay he’ll be the most difficult out of the 3 to understand you.

🧃 he doesn’t understand at all. It’s great how couldn’t you couldn’t feel or enjoy it at all?? He loves it so how could somebody else just not like it?

🧃 probably will think you’re just in denial until he doesn’t anymore. He’ll think you’re just stubborn until he tries something and you genuinely get upset.

🧃 this is depressing to him but he realizes that you’re not just a toy instead you’re his s/o. He messes up every now and then sometimes, he’s just gonna need some practice at this.

🧃 when he realizes you’re serious he will never try anything on you but if he lets something slip out he’ll probably just apologize and shut up

🧃 he’d hang some ace flags around and would celebrate pride with you, he thinks it’s nice because he is canonly pansexual so you guys could relate in one link, and he probably went to pride every now and then but he goes more often if you were to be comfortable going because anything for “his darling~”

🧃 if anybody invalidates you just like chrollo, quick easy kill (oh she passed away? aww, aww alright anyways yall want some mcdonalds? 🤷🏽‍♀️)

🧃 honestly be grateful that you don’t have to explain what ace is to him because I feel he’s educated on all topics like this, not like he had a family to educate him (fuck yo homie dead 😜) he just felt it was important 

🧃 this would throw him off a small bit but he still loves you just as if you weren’t ace

🧃 this is gonna be a challenge but he’ll get the hand of it soon :)

Okay that is it! sorry if it seems to typical but I am not part of the community myself and tried to research as much as I could for it to seem realistic ✨ ANYWAYS THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REQUESTING!!! SEND IN MORE REQUESTS GUYS I LOVE THEM 😁🧃

[groundramon]

So curiouscat has stupid short reply lengths so i had to post this here

Tw for: bullying, fatphobia, discussion of sexual harassment (oh it feels good to have enough characters to write a proper tw)

So it might surprise ppl to know that my favorite frontier character is JP, the raging heterosexual. But like, to me...hes so much more than that. JP is a character that I saw so much of myself in. His social isolation from his peers, leading him to push away others to avoid getting hurt...its not that people outwardly bully him, its that no one sees behind his surface and nobody bothers to truly care about him. People only recognize him as the class clown - no one actually wants to hang out with him. And that...that hit me HARD as a kid. It was the experience i had growing up. I wasn't outright bullied, I just felt...excluded. Judged. I wanted friends but was too afraid of being judged or excluded. And sometimes it caused me to be dismissive of genuinely good people. And quite frankly, that's STILL a problem I have, not even a year after an exfriend of 7 years said that our interests were one of the things driving us apart. My intense fear of being ridiculed for my interests drove me as a kid, and sometimes even now as an adult, to completely stop caring what my peers thought about anything. For all intents and purposes, im a bit of a hipster - i hate on what's popular and i tote my more obscure interests. Because I feel like that's the only way. Obviously i have fairly mainstream interests but lemme tell ya, i went to a christian school in the late 2000s/early 2010s - goddamn pokemon was obscure/counter-culture in a setting like that. But despite my desperate attempts not to care, I DO care, just like JP. It fuckin stung. And now i have depression and social anxiety whoops. Honestly ngl, it got so bad that I genuinely projected that it was implied JP was isolated for being fat/not conventionally attracted, until i was like "wait a minute...frontier didnt go that hard"

But what makes JP such a tragic character to me now is that at the end of Frontier nowadays when i watch it, im left asking myself....DID JP make any friends?

I know JP is a raging heterosexual but quite frankly, he is dealt such a shitty, judgemental hand for an innocent crush. JP's most nsfw fantasy is marrying Zoe and holding her hand, like... And yet, despite this, he's accused time and time again of being a perv. JP is, well, a big fuckin guy. As such, he thinks "its probably a good idea to let all my friends climb up this latter before me, so i dont crush them all if i fall - plus ill look chivalrous too!" But he unfortunately forgets that Zoe has a skirt on and, y'know, not pants. I understand Zoe's hesitation completely - i wouldnt trust a man who kept hitting on me either. Her relationship with JP is completely justified. Like, its not like JP doesn't take no for an answer - he just still has a crush on her. Yes he should probably give it a rest but like, he's 13 and his most nsfw fantasy is to hold hands and marry and respect his crush. Inb4 you say "but its a kids show of course it is-" literally everything about Zoe is sexualized so no the fuck its not lol

What gets me the most though is the beach episode... again, not because of Zoe. She thinks someone has peeped on her (understandable but it was a digimon) and confronts them about it. But koji and takuya IMMEDIATELY suspect JP, and only believe his immediate denial when Tommy points out that JP was with them the whole time. Like first of all, YOU FORGOT HE WAS THERE??? it took the baby of the group pointing that out for you to remember???? Second of all, JP has never done anything to warrant not being believed - again for zoe id understand, a bitch has gotta be weary, but not for the guys? And thirdly, and perhaps most importantly of all, YOU GUYS CONSIDER SOMEONE YOU'D EASILY SUSPECT OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT YOUR "FRIEND"???? i would NEVER be friends with someone who i could see sexually harassing another one of my friends!! What the shit!! I realize they're kids but GEEZ. And i know its implied JP only cares about the perpetrator because he likes Zoe but idc, despite being persistent in his crush JP has literally NEVER done ANYTHING to disrespect women. And if the scene where takuya and jp run into Zoe's changing room to see whats wrong after she screams counts - well lol takuya was there too.

Zoe was dealt a terrible hand by the writers (worse than JP imo) so I understand people being weary of JP, but - in the dub at least - he literally did nothing wrong... dont confuse the writers sexualizing zoe and being misogynistic with JP sexualizing zoe and being misogynistic.

And im gonna say it - JP is only treated this way cuz hes fat lol. Its not a coincidence that the only MC in the digimon anime who's treated like a perv (despite the fact that they failed in writing one, cuz hes not a perv) is the fat guy. Japan LOVES the fat otaku stereotype (America, look what you did, you made it fatphobic) and in JP's case he's treated completely differently because he's fat. Takuya doesn't have an explicit crush on Zoe but just look at how he treats her vs JP. And which one is demonized lmao? Like, frontier has major problems in general, but to me this isnt a coincidence.

Also, I think JP's crush on zoe is initially just flirting/wanting to impress a girl to fill the void in his heart, but then he genuinely comes to respect her and like her for who she is. He likes that she's kind but stands up for herself and even though he's hopelessly infatuated with her, he just wants her to be happy, even if its not with him. He relates to her struggles to fit in despite not understanding how someone so beautiful and charismatic (in his eyes) could be disliked by her peers.

Hackers Memory discussion coming up, but the spoilers are minor/vague. Frank discussion of sexual harassment and...pedophilia i guess? But its like...ephebophilia, not literal children.

I realize the Story games and the anime are two different beasts entirely, and Cyber Sleuth especially is targeted at an older audience. BUT... compare how JP is treated in Frontier to how Chitose and even Keisuke are treated in HM. Chitose goes after countless women and isn't even reprimanded for going after someone he considers a CHILD. To clarify - Ryuji and Chitose both call Arata a child. Arata is canonically older than Yuuko. Chitose flirts with Yuuko. It is gross. Like he gets the physical embodiment of the cold shoulder and you get to insult him for it, but that's not proper reprimanding. In comparison, yes JP is older than Zoe...by a year/grade. But JP gets accused of SEXUAL HARASSMENT BY HIS "FRIENDS" and Chitose just gets "haha good ol chitose, hes a wild one." Plus i think Chitose and JP get the shit smacked out of each other an equal amount of times in the story, which like...one of these people is worse than the other!

Then there's Keisuke, the protagonist of HM, who's significantly better than Chitose but still gets dirty thoughts about Yuuko and is only reprimanded by Erika. And honestly I love Erika but HM plays up the tsundere heterosexual couple aspect. So imagine the only person who calls you out on your shit is your fucking love interest, who also beat the shit out of you with a plush toy for entering her room without knocking, not knowing anyone was in there (id say hes not a playboy but considering he befriends a stranger to practice "getting chicks" at chitose's recommendation, hes totally a playboy) and yet all she does when you start thinking weird shit about Yuuko is be like "hey. Stop that. Get some help"

Also Erika's best friend is chitose so like, someone save this poor girl PLEASE

But my point is that Chitose is conventionally attractive and...well they play up the idea that Keisuke isn't but hes not conventionally unattractive like JP is.

Gee, i wonder why they're treated differently? /s

TLDR: JP drinks respecting women juice and i kin him

[think-blot]

Desperation (Spencer Reid x Reader)

Summary: After everything that has happened to Spencer, something changed. It’s not anything bad but, still, you worry. How could you not? 

Word Count: 2021

A/N: Idk where this came from. I’m working on two other Spencer fics because I wanna put one out and then this throws itself into my head and I finish it in a couple hours. I don’t understand myself. Anyway, requests are open! Sorry for any mistake but we know by now that I suck when it comes to that. 

------

Spencer had changed after, well, everything. It was understandable; jail as an innocent man was nowhere near sunshine and rainbows and his mother wasn't getting any better. But despite the pain that came from those experiences, that continued to come, that wasn't the change you saw. Somehow, he managed to be more distant and closer than he had ever been, at the same time. At first, you didn't notice it; you were too worried about him in general to analyze every little thing he did. It wasn't until after a case, when everyone was tired and just wanted to erase the entire past week, that you did.

You had just gotten back to your desk, the others already in their cars leaving to their loved ones, when you turned to see Spencer waiting for you. You smiled, shouldering your bag, and walked over to him. "You didn't have to wait y'know."

He had smiled back, though it was no longer as bright as it once was. "I know."

He walked you to your car which wasn't new. He had always been that much of a gentleman and if the two of you were ever the last ones, he was happy to walk with you. It's one of the reasons you fallen for him. What was different was the hug. You had hugged Spencer before, the whole team had, he was comfortable enough with all of you to accept them. But that was just it, he accepted the hugs but he never doled them out. You had turned to thank him the way you always would and were engulfed in his long arms. You were surprised at first but you were never one to turn down a hug, especially not from him. There was a strange desperation to it and you weren't sure if it was coming from you or him. It was obvious that neither of you wanted it to end, for what reasons you weren't sure.  When you did separate there was something about his expression that you couldn't quite understand but just as quick as it came, it left and so did he. You had chalked it up to the case, it had taken a toll on everyone and he just wanted comfort. Looking back, you were just in denial.

-------

After that first time you started to realize it more and more. The constant attempts at affection that, for anyone else, wouldn’t have warranted questioning. No one bats an eye when there are side hugs and handshakes but it was different with Spencer. He had started to linger when he had to let go, his grip tight, and with no clue as to why in his eyes.  The others started to notice when he brought you coffee. Again, it wasn't anything new. He was the sweetest man you knew and when he had time in the morning he would bring you a cup. However, he would always place it on your desk with a soft smile and nod away your thanks. That morning, he had handed it to you, the same desperation you had felt in the hug clouding his eyes. You had grabbed for it without thinking, too focused on the case file in front of you, and your hands had overlapped. Spencer wasn't as bad as he once was when it came to people touching him, especially when it came to the team, but there were still moments where he would react. Usually when it was out of his control. You had quickly looked up when you felt more than just the warmth of the drink, ready to apologize, but the soft smile was still in place.

"Thanks Spence." You took the drink and he nodded your thanks away, like nothing had changed, and maybe to him it hadn't. But you weren't the only one to notice the exchange, JJ side eyeing you while attempting to hide her shock.

She had brought it up to you at lunch. "What happened earlier with the coffee?" In a world full of profilers, every little thing was important. It was sometimes too much.

"I don't really know. I wasn't thinking." Spencer walked into the kitchen before you two could continue the conversation, both of you smiling at him as he entered.

He returned the smile and your own dulled to match it. It hurt not to see it as bright as it could be, you hoped that one day you’d see it again. He went to the cabinet behind you, touching the small of your back to excuse you. Not much to the normal eye but for you and JJ it was another one of those moments. Spencer was the type to wait silently next to someone, maybe even have polite small talk, until the other person moved. When he left the kitchen, JJ turned to you in excitement. "Are you two together?"

You shook your head, "No, stuff like that has been happening a lot more recently."

"Maybe he finally realized his feelings for you and this is his way of showing you." She smirked, not thinking too much into it.

You scoffed, "Yeah right." Even if that was the case, which you doubted, there  was something else at play. You could feel it. Spencer was never one for casual touches, something had changed, and you wanted to make sure it came from a good place.

---------

Before you could ask him, the team was called on a case. It wasn't too bad, you had stopped the unsub before he could hurt anyone else and the team was all safe. Yet, the air still felt tense. You had opted out of drinks with the team, just wanting to stay at home and binge watch tv while eating take out. Spencer had stopped you before you could leave.

"Hey, you okay?" He was always the one to see right through you, even when you yourself didn't know how you felt. It was sometimes scary how well he knew you.

"Yea, I'm good, Spence." You didn't know why you felt the way you did. It was a good case, you should want to celebrate but there was a weight you couldn't shake off. Like everything from the past months decided to make itself known then.

He looked at you, searching your eyes, and, for a second, your bright eyes matched his dull ones. You had no right to feel the way you did, Spencer had been through hell and back. You should be trying to comfort him not the other way around. "I'm always here for you, Y/N."

Your laugh was wet, you couldn't look him in the eye anymore, afraid he would see something he shouldn't. You were probably already too late. You wiped at your eyes even though there was nothing there, a preemptive action. "I should be telling you that."

His laugh was short but genuine. He stroked the side of your cheek, "Yeah but I already know it." He leaned down and placed a kiss on your cheek. You were sure you had stopped breathing. "Good night Y/N." He whispered.

You watched him walk away, stopping yourself from touching your cheek. "Are you?" You said after him. He stopped, only turning his head to look back at you. You shrugged, "Okay?" The two of you stood there for a while, neither of you knowing quite what to say. So you gestured behind you towards the exit, "Wanna join me for some take out and tv?"

He had turned, his face warm, "I'd like that."

--------

It was half way into a season of Doctor Who when you got up the courage to ask him. The two of you sat on your couch, close but not touching, empty take out containers surrounding you. You had shuffled to look at him, your knee touching his leg. He paused the tv.

"Why have you been so touchy?" You didn't know how to say it but that definitely wasn't how you should've. You grimaced, "I don't mean like- I mean affectionate, I guess."

"So you noticed?" He was neutral, no hint at what was going on underneath. That was another problem with profilers, they know how to hide the emotions they want to.

"Kinda hard not to." You shrugged. "You don't have to tell me, I'm just worried."

His eyes shot to yours then, hurt drowning in them. You sucked in a breath, wanting to pull him into a hug immediately. "What does that say about me? That showing affection worries people."

"It's not like that Spence." You struggled to find the right thing to say again. "It's just that we know this isn't the usual for you."

"You mean it's not normal." He said under his breath.

"No." You said immediately. "That's far from what I mean."

He took a deep breath and nodded to himself, "I know it is." He turned to you again, "Things have just been different."

"Different how?" He hesitated, his body seizing up with the effort. "You can tell me anything, you know that Spence." You put your hand on his knee for comfort and when he put his own over yours, you hid your surprise perfectly.

He clutched onto your hand, "After everything, it seems so useless to keep everyone at a distance. To flinch at the idea of actually showing how much I care." He looked at your hands, a small smile on his face. "But at the same time, it's because of all of it that I want to keep all of you safe."

"Away from you doesn't mean safe, Spence." You said quietly. Your heart was beating a mile a minute, your focus torn between his words and the way his thumb stroked over your knuckles. It made sense, that after everything he'd want to show everyone how much he really cared. For him, putting aside his discomforts was the way to do that.

"I did some really bad things Y/N." The shame and guilt that coated his words stung. You moved closer, using your free hand to make him look at you.

"You did what you had to do to survive." You were the closest you had ever been to him, your noses only a couple inches apart.

"How can you believe that?" You were sure his eyes flickered to your lips but it could've just been your imagination.

"I have never believed in anything the way I believe in you." It came out too strong, you were supposed to say that you had never believed in anything more than that. The closeness and his eyes staring into your soul distracted you, possibly for the better.

His kissed you so softly that, at first, you didn't even think he had moved. It was a whisper before the promise. His hand faintly touched the side of your face, not directing just holding, and you felt like you were floating. The promise came when he pulled you closer, the desperation you had seen and felt so often, bleeding into you as his delicate kisses became almost rough. You let go of his hand to grasp onto his face with both of yours, one slipping into his hair just because you could. For so long you wondered if you would ever have this and now that it was here, you were sure you were dreaming. You were kneeling on your couch, pressing up against the genius of your dreams as he poured every emotion he had ever felt into your lips. There was no way it was a reality.

You pulled back, both of you out of breath but smiling in a way where neither of you would be stopping anytime soon. For a second, you saw a glimpse of his old smile, the light taking over his face. He put his forehead against yours and closed his eyes, simply being. "So is that why I've been getting the special treatment?"

He laughed and opened his eyes again to look at you, "You noticed that too?"

You rubbed your nose against his, "What can I say? I notice a lot around here."

[sieben9]

“quite a common fairy” impressions

Confession time: I have an irrational weakness for disneyfied-nice Tinkerbell. I know, neither accurate to the book, nor the movie, but that's how it is. So, ever since I realised this show was going to Neverland, I've been quietly going "please don't let her be evil, please don't let her be evil..."  and look! Not evil!

Bitter and very pissed off, but not evil.

Also, in what seems to have become the background chorus every time the character shows up: What the hell, Blue.

I have to say, though: at least in this case, Blue was obviously _meant_ to be the antagonist of Tinkerbell's story. At least she's just a tyrant, not a hypocrite.

...yeah, that's still not all that great, is it?

And yes, I know, broken record, but Regina, do you really think this is the right person to advise you on managing your inner darkness?

I'm just saying.

Anyway, what I "loved" most about this entire subplot was Blue's rationale for not helping Regina. Namely "her mother was bad and her teacher is worse". I mean... it's not like she picked the first one? And if you'd been more useful than a chocolate teapot, she wouldn't have had to pick the latter. That quote about how all evil needs to succeed is for good people to stand aside and do nothing? Congratulations, Blue, you're flying, talking proof of that.

Not only that, you actually punished the one person willing to help a scared and miserable young woman.

She was trying to HELP!

All in all, the flashback mostly felt like setup to the cave scene, leaving aside the weirdness of soulmate-seeking pixie dust missiles. I'm assuming that they'll meet at some point in the not-too-far, and I'll mark myself down as "cautiously optimistic". (Though I'll freely admit, if it were down to a choice between that and "I'm talking about our magic, Emma, the magic we make together ::nudge-nudge, wink-wink::", then... yeah, sorry, Robin.)

Why do you do this to me, show?

Special mention to this moment here, where Regina goes through all the stages of grief, including some that haven't been named yet, only to jump alllll the way back to denial and run like hell.

That was some good acting there...

Henry's plot in Neverland was short, but nerve-wracking. Though I was weirdly proud of Henry for just straight-up trying to shoot Pan. He didn't even telegraph it. Just "uh-hu, interesting argument, have a bolt to the face". Yes, it didn't work, but it's the princinple of the thing.

Pan, don't call Neal a "spawn". It's rude. And people in glass houses, etc.

And we see the beginnings of Pan winning Henry over. ::sigh:: Of course Henry will listen to "only you can save magic". The boy is so desperate to be a hero... By the way, I'm assuming that Pan is lying unless proven otherwise. I think I found his tell -- it's whenever his lips are moving.

Just... hang tight, Henry, will you? Pretty much your entire family is coming to get you.

Over in the "adult" plot in Neverland: David is getting worse and might die before the month is out, but won't tell anyone about it. Which may not be fair to his family, but is entirely too understandable. Just don't, y'know, actually die, buddy, OK?

As for the cave scene... Holy wow. That was some good television.

I think this may have been the most direct and honest Regina has been with anyone about the mistakes of her past, including Henry. Something about Tinkerbell's antagonism might have brought it out, because Regina doesn't share it any longer. (Mind you, she obviously didn't look forward to this talk, either, but that's understandable.) She's ready to admit what she denied back in the flashback: she was scared, and she was wrong. More than that, she had been clinging so tightly to her anger that she couldn't let go, and so she chose the "easy" way out. (Hint: it wasn't. Not in the long run.)

And I know her main motivation for helping Tinkerbell out of her own pit was to get her help in finding Henry, but I was still oddly proud of her. There goes my reforming villain, helping other people find their own way back to the light. ::wipes away a tear::

Though maybe giving her your own heart to crush was going a bit far.

I applaud your conviction, Regina, but not your survival instincts

I assume that she saw Tinkerbell's eyes when she had that arrow at her throat, and decided that no, this woman didn't actually want to kill her. She just needed Tinkerbell to realise that, too.

Also, this bit here?

  "With Henry, I finally did something right"

Rude.

Meanwhile, in the Enchanted Forest...

Best. Screenshot. Ever.

I have come to the conclusion that Mr Neal "I use emotional blackmail and also endanger a small child to get back to my family" Cassidy has a lot more in common with his dear old dad than he'd like anyone to know (including himself). I mean, it was a good plan and I don't think the little hobbit was actually in any danger, but... yeah, that whole thing was quite telling, wasn't it?

Far too adorable to be bait

And I may joke about the screenshot, but I do appreciate the parallel between the flashback with a struggling young Bae being dragged away from his new family by the Shadow and the adult Neal jumping after the glowing-eyed demon and holding on for dear life, because damnit, he's getting back to his family this time, and screw whoever tries to stop him.

Of course, this is what happens next, because Neal just attracts this kind of crap:

Illustration next to the dictionary entry for "FML"

OK, I know this looks bad, Neal, but on the other hand, please consider: he is just one single (very long) teenager and you are a fully grown man. I’m not saying “break his nose and run like hell”, buuuut...

As an aside... yes, I know there was another thing happening in the well-lit present day plot, but I'm genuinely upset about that and I won't go into it here. Screw you, show, that wasn't just rude, that was cruel.