#I love her but lbr she’s horrible

[tenitchyfingers]

Ok man I’m actually just waiting for Dean to go buttfucking insane because I know it’s just a matter of time (especially when his wife will choose the drug lord/murderer/actual criminal over just... a cheater) and that’s when the Lillard shines, man

[qqueenofhades]

I think the veepstakes are going to continue for another week or so, both to increase the profile of her potential running mates and see how they do with the public, time to vet, and give everyone a little more incentive to be extra enthusiastic about campaigning for her, but ALSO because there's a nonzero chance Trump may drop Vance and they'll need to pivot their strategy, though I think most choices will be sound either way(I like Walz and Beshear the best). What do you think are the odds of Trump dropping Vance versus doubling down because he doesn't want to look weak or indecisive?

She is going to have to pick pretty quickly, because the Ohio GOP attempted some fuckery by putting their ballot deadline before the DNC (and refusing to grant an extension as they always did for Republicans, so you know). I expect she will pick by the middle of next week at the latest, because the virtual nomination has to be made by, iirc, August 6th in order to outwit the attempted Republican ratfuckery. The DNC is then August 19-22, where the whole thing will be made official and everyone will pledge/endorse/etc. That leaves a pretty compressed timeline to road-test Veep picks, see how they work with Harris, how they play with the public, etc. But they've been on top of it so far, so there's that. I saw someone suggest that she let it go on as long as possible in order to have 6-10 white guys hyping her up on TV every day -- which is valid, yes, but she will have to pick soon. There are really no bad options, though I too have ones that I would like in particular. I am really warming to Walz, as I think he has a great communication style and would shore her up in the white Midwest. Though I did get a fundraising email from Mark Kelly on behalf of Kamala Harris yesterday, and lbr if you can pick an astronaut, pick an astronaut.

As for Trump dropping Vance, he's in considerably more of a pickle (everyone together now: AHAHAAHHAH! HAHAHAH! HAAHHAHAHAHAHA!) because the RNC has already happened, Vance is legally and bindingly the VP nominee, and if they change it now, there are a ton of legal and procedural steps that take time and make the GOP look incredibly weak. They will also piss off the Project 2025 people (who were all over the Vance pick because obviously, Vance loves it and they are horrible) -- which, if they were at all sensible, they might do. But they're fascists and that's actually what they want to do, so they won't. Biden was able to step aside and put Harris in so easily because he was not actually the Democratic nominee yet -- he was just the presumptive nominee, delegates are technically free to vote for whoever they want and the nominee is not official until after this convention process has happened, and he wasn't locked in. But if the GOP tries to drop Vance now, it's going to be a lot of legal hassle, they'll look incredibly foolish, and they'll piss off the core fascists they have been rallying every step of the way. Too bad, so sad. No good choice, huh? Seems karmically fitting that they can't abort Vance. Oh no. They must carry his ass to term.

[stealingpotatoes]

Skywalkers apart au! It's so precious that Anakin gets to be a dad, a rebellion general Dad but he gets to be there for at least one of them and Padme survives and gets to be a mom and maybe someday they get to meet and it's so good.

Also the concept of General Skywalker of the Rebellion feels like it has so much potential cause he was such a big figure in the Clone Wars, he was the Hero, the General, he could probably get the various splinter rebel cells (they were very divided in the early Rebellion) to follow him by sheer reputation and charisma. Imagine Anakin being at Hoth, like the attack is going along the usual Imperial imminent victory and suddenly an AT-AT has been thrown clear across the landscape and an announcement sounds out "General Skywalker has entered the field" cue Rebel Counterattack due to morale boost and Imperial Panic.

What happened to the 501st here? Did he go to the Venator's crash site where Ahsoka was during Order 66 what did he think when he saw all the dead folks?

Fun thought, Starkiller being the apprentice in this AU, means that Sidious has probably been comparing him to Anakin (in part because he's bitter he didn't fall, in other part cause it's great for fueling the darkside) for years so the first time they face off he's gonna be full of spiteful hatred (all going according to plan) before Starkiller gets styled on by the Skywalker, cause Anakin isn't crippled by the suit and that means he's still massively powerful in the force and skilled in the blade (Vader was too, but less than a whole Anakin), I could see Anakin pulling a Lightside version of the Rogue One Hallway scene against Stormtroopers (or even inquisitors).

Rebel General Anakin Skywalker would be an Imperial Boogeyman.

Leia would probably appreciate it for a while but also she'd get a bit annoyed about her dad's reputation and "Legend" and the fact that she's probably got that entire thing to measure up to, making her more reckless or foolhardy. That's a big shadow to live under.

Padme on the other hand is probably in a very different situation reputation wise, she was the senator for the new Emperor's home planet, she's the old queen of naboo from the Trade Federation attack, she's a founding member of one of the oldest discrete rebellion cells but that still leaves some stigma. She's probably so very worried about Imperial surveilance on her or Luke or the rest of her family, and it doesn't help that the Inquistorious has probably been sniffing around for a while.

ok this is a veeeeery long ask so i'm gonna have a veeeery long answer which is gonna go under this readmore:

YES!! yes absolutely! tbh i decided a while back he never gets an official promotion to general, everyone just calls him General Skywalker for so long that it sticks loll. BUT YEAH I mean working with a Jedi is rare and awe-inspiring enough for any rebellion cell but working with the hero with no fear??? half the rebels are wondering if they can interrupt this mission to ask for his autograph

its extra funny bc for the first few years of the empire he's lowkey depressed and like agh i failed the order republic AND my family i'm a terrible horrible no good jedi who nearly turned to the dark side and while he's having this spiral there's some rebel standing next to him pointing and pogging

and yeah he's SO useful in big battles like that!! he's half a legend, half a ghost story, given most ppl think he died in the Purge but here he is, enacting justice on the empire!! tho he does struggle on quieter missions (which happen a lot more at first bc gotta hide from the empire) that you cant just blaze into. its a difficult shift to go from clone wars general skywalker to rebel general skywalker

yeah 501st same as canon ): but OHHH MY GOD yes thats SUCH A PERFECT IDEA, Anakin going with Rex and Ahsoka to the site and mourning them all (and probably going into another depression spiral lbr)

youre so right lollll obvs leia loves the one up she has in an argument of "well my dad's general skywalker, beat that" but as u say she absolutely wants to live up to that (+ is a very independent/stubborn person and would like Leia Skywalker, not just "General Skywalker's daughter" lol)

AND YEAH ABSOLUTELY Padmé and Anakin's roles in this au are both so interesting (is that egotistical to say) bc they're these upside down versions of their clone wars roles, both very loud people forced to quieten down and be Discreet about how they go abt helping ppl. Padmé is really struggling hiding so much (luke's force sensitivity, her rebel activities, all relations to anakin) and trying to protect Luke while helping the Rebellion WHILE trying not to seem suspicious. a lot on her plate -- only made worse by palpatine keeping a close-ish eye on her, and she can't tell why (is it bc of luke? the rebellion? anakin? or is it just his old favouritism or patriotism being VERY inconvenient??)

on the inquisitors, obvs you don't see a lot of them on coruscant -- but padmé's SO scared abt ppl (MAINLY SIDIOUS WHO, YA KNOW, TRIED TO TURN LUKE'S DAD SITH) finding out abt him and she hates that she's making him repress this part of himself but what choice does she have???

[melrosing]

I think Tywin is what happens when a aristocratic upper-class white Englishman makes his family the Nazi party. I mean my guy out here has such a stiff upper lip he had no bottom lip it’s just a line and all because his dad was jolly like Santa. If he was here his least favourite holiday would be Christmas and his favourite bonfire night where he tells all the children about guy Fawkes death.

I think the thing about Tywin is he's less interested in appealing to the populace than your average dictator tends to be, who generally seem more desperate to be liked. Tywin has pretty nasty politics and plenty of warcrimes under his belt, but i don't think he cares to be liked, he's too insular for that. the reason I think horrible upper class English dad is more to do with his immediate family dynamics e.g.

the emotional constipation where crying is weak and love is weak and the deep deep seated shame, but shame for all the wrong things. like lbr so much of what drives Tywin is shame. shame of his father of his children and deep down of himself!!! english.

very much a 'children should be seen and not heard' kind of guy, he wants children as avatars of his power but sees no point in engaging w them as people. sidenote I think England despises children and near always has and that's been passed from the upper class downwards. but another time

yes Tywin has daddy issues but have you considered the mummy issues. the obsession he has with his father's mistress is in part because she's encroaching on their late mother's position. so what exactly does it mean when Tywin marches her naked through the streets. and how does Joanna fit into all this?? ask yourself. anyway I think mummy issues are baked into upper class men like im pretty sure there are Books about this

also the weird psychosexual relationship with his children generally.... deeply English

I don't think Tywin believes in a superior race beyond his own family, though it's unclear what exactly he thinks House Lannister has to be proud of lmao WHAT have they even achieved in the recorded histories besides sitting on a goldmine. nah he just has a deep conviction that he is in precisely the place he ought to be and is obsessed with his own heraldry and won't even marry outside the family he marries his own cousin who looks just like him.... English

a penchant for doing horrific things in a tidy little way. and then going see now wasn't that efficient?

also sidenote on guy fawkes, tywin would be so gratified by how horrifically that guy failed lol. idk if it was just my catholic education but generally i grew up seeing guy fawkes as a hero who never was LMAO I guess Tywin would take the polar opposite pov

[cargopantsprentiss]

i actually lost a lot of respect and love for emily :(

I can understand that.

(Putting a read more for spoilers)

To be honest, I think Emily was put in a really difficult position with this because she acted out of wanting to keep JJ safe and not upset her. We have to assume that she’s working behind the scenes to try and get rid of this website (which is easier said than done) and that in her mind she’s protecting JJ by not telling her. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the right decision, and I think given how much of this era of Emily has been about her making agonising decisions we’ll probably see that later on. She’s at her limit. She’s a human and she has to make choices that affect not only her and her closest friends but the whole country to some extent and we’ve seen before that she doesn’t always make the right decision but that doesn’t make her a bad person. It’s fucking hard. I was going to say I wouldn’t want her job but lbr *she* doesn’t even want her job.

I do think JJ is going to be angry about Emily keeping it from her but I also think after she’s let it fester for a while she’s going to realise what a horrible, impossible decision it was. I genuinely don’t think this will be friendship ruining lol. JJ is good at being rational and logical, once she’s given the time to be. And like, JJ’s also been in that position of having to make a potentially bad call, about Emily’s life even. That’s kind of their whole deal.

[polaroidcats]

hello dear cat! tumblr user @spindrifters would like to know all about mcbridge, particularly in the scenario where dolores is mcg's student, and she has a horrible self-hating crush on her hot cat teacher, and all of their interactions as adults are underpinned by her sexual frustration/internalised homophobia, pls and thank you <3

hello dear lynx and dear tumblr user @spindrifters!! what a delicious scenario, as your resident cat(lady) expert i am more than happy to deliver!!!

I mean who can blame young, confused, deeply closeted and homophobic/self loathing Dolores for having a crush on her sexy catlike teacher? We'd all let McGoogles step on us, lbr who said that

ANYWAYS so Dolores LOVES transfiguration class, she tries so hard to impress McGoogles but also really doesn't care what grade she gets in transfiguration or what feedback she gets from McGoogles (the fact that she once said "Very well done, Miss Umbridge, I'm impressed" lives rent free in her head and she has definitely never ever fantasised about hearing those words in a very different kind of scenario from her as well ...).

But those fantasies are a very rare occurance, at least while she's awake, most of the time she won't let herself get that far and blocks off any thoughts in that direction, she's very normal after all, thank you very much, she's a girly girl who loves pink and cute cats (a total coincidence of course!) and dates a respectable boy for a respectable amount of time before dumping him when he gets too handsy because she's a good girl and that's of course the only reason why she won't go further than the occasional kiss with any boy. And if she and her dormmates one night practise kissing "for boys" and she closes her eyes and accidentally thinks of a certain professor well that's just because she's stressed out about her transfiguration essay that's due in.. over 2 weeks. Listen, she likes being prepared, okay? She also makes sure to tell everyone afterwards that the dormmate she practisted kissing with came onto her and is a secret lesbian, to make sure no one suspects her of being one. A foolproof plan, of course. And if she loses a friend through that, well she doesn't really care. She has to focus on her academics anyways because she has big plans for her future that involve exceling in academics and being very normal and heterosexual.

And if one night she dreams about cuddling up with a certain professor in front of the fire in her office, surrounded by cats, drinking scottish breakfast tea and eating shortbread and feeling so very safe in her strong lean arms well that's just because... no she actually has no explanation for this and that dream haunts her way more than any of her frequent (completely involontary!!) wet dreams about her teacher haunt her. The sex dreams can easily be rationalised away but the way she woke up feeling safe and loved and then realised it was all a dream, and such a horribly unrealistic, unattainable dream too, will haunt her for years... She blames her mother for this, naturally. It must be that she's just lacking a mother figure while at hogwarts, that's the most reasonable explanation for all of this... (she almost manages to convince herself to believe this. almost. listen, she can be really convincing if she wants to, and if she sets her mind to something she will achieve it, so if she says her dreams don't mean anything then they really don't. they don't!)

The dream haunts her for so long in fact, that when she finds herself in that very same office years later, she really doesn't know what to do with herself. Of course she has mastered the art of covering up any insecurities with fake confidence, but something about McGonnagall's eyes in those glasses makes her feel like she's a sixteen year old schoolgirl again, and she's trying so hard not to want to impress her former teacher. She really doesn't mean for it to always be so awkward when she talks to McGoogles now but she can feel the fake niceness and hostility radiating off the other woman and if she weren't so set in her career path it would make her wobble and rethink all her life choices, because all she really wants in life is this wonderful woman's approval. But she came to hogwarts on a mission, and not even Minerva McGonnagall is able to keep her from accomplishing what she set out to do. But if she accepts the frequent invites for tea at her office that are clearly just a barely disguised way for McGoogles to keep tabs on her and spy on her a little, well she's only human and none of it has to mean anything. Anytime she leaves that office she's battling an inner battle of hating everything McGoogles stands for on a political level but also feeling that yearning and remembering those dreams she used to have as a schoolgirl.

[mermaidsirennikita]

saw the "who's your most underrated Kleypas hero" question getting bandied about (again) today, and I must say, the only answers I'll accept are:

--John McKenna/Again the Magic (I'd argue that AtM is not the DEEP CUT newer Kleypas readers think it is; before I read it, it was definitely upheld as a classic of hers, but people who want the softer boys she writes in the Ravenels... may not like this one; however, McKenna fucks RIDICULOUS lbr)

--Alex, Lord Raiford/Then Came You (yes... he calls her a bitch.... and I'll be real this made me love him more... he carried her over his shoulder outta Craven's and bought her a bear I'm VERY confident in this choice)

--Kev Merripen/Seduce Me at Sunrise (thought he'd kill Win with his massive dick, tied her up and took her to his fuck cottage, is Heathcliff if Heathcliff wasn't horrible basically)

--Leo Hathaway/Married by Morning (fun bout wounded king, "haha" in the streets and "oh shit" in the sheets, notable for making Catherine ask him to touch her pussy in explicit and specific language)

[polyhexian]

Btw I do feel extremely bad for eventually!Darius. I love Darius! He's a very cool character with interesting motivations and flaws! And they're all coming to a head in this one, lol.

Darius is replaying the last time he ever saw Jasper on loop, and he's reevaluating every interaction he has ever had with Hunter, and he has realized he's fucked up. Darius has realized he's been consistantly fucking up for 16 years.

Maybe he tries to defend himself to himself. Brains tend to do that. I was grieving! Okay yeah valid but no excuse for bullying a child, actually. How was I supposed to know he was Jasper's kid? Oh come on you can't say you didn't KIND OF suspect with those eyes and that face and the hair, also it shouldn't matter WHOSE kid he was you still hurt a kid. I was subconsciously upset Jasper apparently had a kid and didn't tell me. Right but this all keeps coming back to you bullying a kid. It's not like he explicitly told me to look out for the next Golden Guard! It costs 0 snails to not be mean to the child soldier.

Darius is just…facedown on his bed, groaning. He hasn't kept up with his hair or skincare routine in two days. Eberwolf is getting worried; they've dragged MULTIPLE animal carcasses into Darius's bedroom and he hasn't complained ONCE.

Raine: We're not getting Eda involved, I refuse to put her in danger.

Darius: Sure! Of course! Perfectly understandable! I'm so glad you have the opportunity to look out for your loved one! Of course if it turns out you wildly misunderstand what she wants she may never forgive you, but hey, whatever you think is best! AHAHAHAHA.

Raine: Darius are you okay.

At some point when he's on speaking terms with Alador again, it comes up.

Darius: I've horrifically betrayed the man I love. He trusted me, and I let him down, badly. Now he hates me and he's never going to forgive me and I have to see him scowl at me from across the room and call me all sorts of horrible things and the sad truth is I deserve every single one of them.

Alador, nodding: I can tell you from experience that it's an awful thing to go through, but it is possible to eventually move on.

Darius: Are you MOCKING me??

Alador: No? I'm being genuinely sympathetic and supportive.

Idk if this is a universe where Jasper and Darius would be able to work things out between themselves - the hurt runs deep, Jasper honestly thought he could at least count on the one man who befriended HIM to look out for a kid who looked like him and was stuck in the same position, and instead Darius failed at just not being MEAN to said kid. Jasper didn't even realize the bar was so low. And Darius doesn't really have much time to fix his behavior and turn things around, and Hunter's real dad is here so there's no need for Darius to become an adopted father figure, and…yeah.

Jasper's relationship with Darius is so hostile, and once Darius realizes what's up he's just miserable and resigned and apologetic even though he knows it'll fix nothing, like a dog rolling over to show its belly. It's sad and hard to watch.

But if their relationship ever DOES progress to something less than hostile, it's entirely because Hunter's willing to forgive Darius, and Jasper can't deny Hunter anything. They can maybe work their way towards cordial neutral. Romance…romance may not work out here.

…Of course, Hunter has to tackle Luz when she catches wind of the situation. She starts rambling about the Parent Trap and Friends to Enemies to Lovers and orchestrating an Only One Bed situation and he is like NOPE, BAD IDEA, THAT IS HOW PEOPLE (mostly Darius lbr) DIE.

YEAH NO IT SUCKS TO BE DARIUS IN ALL TIMELINES HDDGJIKKIFDRH

I don't think it's.... TOTALLY unsalvageable if he plays his cards right. Like on the beach he realizes that's jasper and he's ALIVE. And jasper hisses at him like. If you ever threaten my son again I will rip you limb from limb. And he poofs and I'm sure Darius is left like SON??????? SON??????

And like back at the castle he has an existential crisis in the middle of the night before like. Oh my god. I've been bullying his son. What the fuck. Son??? He had a son???? Wh. When did he do that. And suddenly he has that same interest in hunter canon Darius has but... perhaps with a little more guilt and desperation. My dude is ALREADY planning to kidnap hunter and get out of there because holy shit??? Jasper???? Alive??????? Out of my way gayboy I have amends to make

Like... Jasper loses him after hollow mind. Hunter bolted and jasper couldn't catch him. So Hunter spends nine days homeless while jasper is having a fucking panic attack. Hunter is in so much fucking immediate danger rn. There is no more fucking around in the shadows it is GO time. Maybe he hates Darius, but Darius is strong, he knows the emperor's coven and hunter, and most importantly he fucking owes him.

Jasper has MAGIC now. He has Hunter's staff! He shows up at Darius' door like GET UP SCRUBLORD YOURE GOING TO HELP ME FIND MY FUCKING SON RIGHT NOW

Ohhhh my god the drama. The two of them working together. Darius is overwhelmed with guilt and confusion. Jasper is angry and hates him. Darius keeps asking questions like "how are you alive" "why didn't you tell me you were alive" "how do you have a son" "do you like legit hate me" and jasper is just fucking ignoring him. But then!! Labyrinth runners! Darius hears over, the like-- like the fucking coven group chat or whatever, that Adrian graye has found the fucking golden guard and jasper's like AHHHHHHHHH and so they both rush over but... it all happened so fast! They're too late! But now they get the full details of the draining spell because hunter told the kids and oh my god.... oh my goodddd. Jasper is like. I have to get hunter as far away from here as humanly possible. And Darius is like you literally don't even know if that would work. And also what about everyone else??? But obviously a worked up jasper is like fuck everybody else!! Gasp. Shock. You're mad at me for bullying you're kid when you're willing to let every kids parents die?? And he's like. Gasp. How dare you

But Hunter is already gone... and jasper is ready to go look for him, but... oh no! Did you think you could beat up a coven head and not face retribution?! There is like a whole outfit of coven soldiers on the way. Like the ones with Adrian were not like combat guys. They were just here to hassle some school kids. Now the school kids have committed fucking treason. And if Darius fights then his cover will be blown! And maybe even Belos will realize he needs to look for moles higher up! If nothing jasper does works then that is the only backup plan to stop the spell and save Hunter along with everyone else!

There's only one choice. Jasper has to stay and fight off a whole army so the kids have time to escape, and Darius has to go and find hunter. And jasper is like you fucker. You go and remember how much you fucking owe me. You remember that. And then wham! Bam! Sick moves!

And we know that hunter really wants Darius's approval... he likes him a lot. At this point we kind of lose track of them for a second because Luz and king go do the Titan trapper stuff, and then they go to the knee to hide out, then they get captured and Darius and co saves them and then the next we see hunter he shows up to say Darius told him to protect Luz so... I guess he's been staying with him? It's a little unclear. But ALSO.... where were Gus and Willow and hunter hiding??? How did they run into Darius and the CATTs?

Maybe they ALSO needed a rescue mission... maybe while fleeing from the school they got captured by a unit too, and Darius swung in and rescued them and brought them to the safehouse BUT also he got a really serious injury like stabbed or something, he's not like dying yet but OWWWWW... and no one in their crew knows healing magic!!!! He gets patched up but.... and you know. He's fretting over hunter. He's been homeless for nine days. He's hungry. He's malnourished. He's upset. Time for Darius to go dad mode for the first time but ALSO hes injured and he gets to finally have a big "I am so sorry Hunter that I let myself drown in my grief and turn into a person I never wanted to be and I'm sorry you were on the receiving end of that, and you might never forgive me but I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you safe now" and it's all very FEELINGS!!!!!!

But where is jasperrrrr???? Poor motherfucker has lost his kid AGAIN... and the thing is that from the time eda and Luz get rescued, it's only 24 hours until the draining spell!! Jasper does not fucking have a lot of time! He searches and searches but THEN.... THE SPELL... AND HUNTER IS UP THERE.... oh maybe he rescues Alador after the kids leave and he tells him they went up to the coven heads and he gets there and Darius says they went to go save Luz... and that's when he finally pops in just in time to protect the kids from a big dramatic Belos attack. And then of course he loses an arm and nearly dies and spends a week in a fever coma lol

[armando-triplepapito]

Seeing your posts about the first episodes and everyone was so mean to Betty since always, and that’s only taking into account the instances where she actually heard or saw people treating her horribly or calling her ugly and whatnot, but they were even worse behind her back (Mario and even Armando lbr especially at the early stages of their affair) and when Armando dresses as a drag queen and Betty takes him to her house to help him get rid of the make up and stuff just as he is leaving he asks her if it’s really that horrible to work at Ecomoda. Dude, do you really need to ask that? 😪 At least, he has time to reflect later because when they want Betty to help them get out of debt by keeping the embargo, Armando says that if she doesn’t want to help them it won’t be because of the things that were said to her during the board meeting, but because of the things that were said to her repeatedly before that and during her whole time working there (All the things Daniel said to Betty when she had her first makeover? He’s gross). The Human Resources department at Ecomoda was simply nonexistent.

If María Beatriz que was not a Valencia, they would treat her just as bad as they did with El Cuartel tbh

Thank you for your gifs, your blog is awesome 😎

Yea it’s rough to see how everyone treats Betty and like how you said they’re even worse when they talk behind her back. They even call her names right after she saves their skin! Calling her Murciélago 🦇 de la Guarda and whatnot. Like bruh she’s doing all she can to help you guys yet y’all can’t compliment her without an insult?! Seriously! They’re dickheads! And the worst part is that Betty probably hears them all the time yet pretends she doesn’t cause let’s not forget the walls are thin in Ecomoda 🫠. (Okay side note- there’s this scene where Armando and Mario are trash talking about her and she trips into the office, I feel like she heard them but of course used her “clumsiness” to brush over the situation if that makes sense? Definitely gonna talk about that later in a post once I rewatch the scene). Anyways when I’m reminded of Armando asking Betty if it’s that horrible to work for him it seriously makes me laugh! That’s not something he should be asking! He KNOWS he’s awful 😀 I think Betty only tells him that Don Hermes heard him yelling at her on the day she made him a business proposal (or something like that, tbh when they talk stuff about the company everything goes over my head) what she should’ve mentioned is that Don Hermes heard him yelling at her on the day he FIRED HER!! Bro that scene made me soo mad! The way Armando didn’t even wanna listen to her, insulting her basically saying that if he has to have a useless secretary might as well only keep Patricia like ugh you dumbass!! How dare you!! I kinda have wished she didn’t made that business proposal for him cause he didn’t deserve it! And the worst part is that right after he told Betty to go take a lunch break he basically tells Mario he did notice that Betty was limping but he just didn’t cared! Ugh!! Idk how Betty was able to handle all that abuse! F Armando man! Betty shouldn’t had helped them not because of what was said to her during the board meeting but ALSO because of what they did and said to her before, during her time in Ecomoda! For sure Betty is stronger than me, I would’ve been so petty😮‍💨 honestly I kinda liked how Armando read Betty’s diary, he deserved to know exactly how Betty felt during her stay in Ecomoda. I loved how he felt her pain through those pages☺️ tho I wished Betty had reminded him how he fired her😒

Don’t even remind me of Daniel during Betty’s first makeover! He was such an asshole for no reason! My poor Betty 🤧 trying to defend herself😭 and now that I think about it, it was brave of her to stand up to him while she was basically cornered cause let’s not forget he attacked her while they were alone who knows what could’ve happened if Armando didn’t appear 😰. I have to admit Armando was such a sweetheart in this episode 🥹 the way he defended her not only from Daniel but from Marcela and Patricia those bitches so kudos for him but not many cause he was still trash talking behind her back with Mario😠

Seriously! Hr was definitely nonexistent in Ecomoda! The way the executives got away with everything is crazy! How Mario played with Patricia and Aura Maria, Hugo’s insults towards the Cuartel especially towards Betty, the way Marcela tried firing Betty and how she probably fired a lot of models (probably without good reasons other than they slept with Armando). There was just so much mistreatments from the executives it’s insane! And the worst part is they never apologize not even Armando who’s the least bad one from them all. He should at least apologize after yelling at the workers 💀. Omgosh that reminds me! Okay sorry for going off track but I’m remembering that time when Armando pulled Patricia’s hair!! That was so insane of him! So scary!! Patricia is an awful person but she did not deserve to get her hair pulled by her boss!! Armando should’ve definitely been arrested there!😰 from what I understand the Cuartel had worked in Ecomoda for years, idk how they handled working in such a toxic environment 😬 but then again Don Roberto was the president so things were way different, I hope😶

Omg if Maria Beatriz was not a Valencia she would’ve been treated even worse than the Cuartel! The Cuartel were treated bad because of their appearance and Patricia was treated bad cause she’s an airhead. Maria Beatriz was not only ugly but also an airhead! Everyone would’ve eaten her alive! She’s lucky that she was born a Valencia but even still I feel like everyone pushes her to the sidelines. I feel like her family and the Mendozas try to forget she even exists💀

Hehe thanks for the kind words🙈❤️ I’ll try to make more gifs but tbh I’m kinda in a hiatus on my rewatch cause it’s kinda hard to see Betty being mistreated by everyone. Everyone is so cruel to her and I’m only 10 episodes in! Just thinking about what’s to come breaks my heart😭 but Ik it’s worth it I just need more time to mentally prepare myself. Also I’m thinking of making some fanart! Idk how to draw but if I can’t do fanfics might as well do some fanart! So watch out for them😜 and hey you never know! Maybe my fanart can inspire talented artist to make some of their own for the fandom 🤭🤪 anyways thanks for messaging me! I always have fun when I have someone to talk to about ysblf 🥰 tho I apologize for taking so long to reply😭

Don’t hate me! I love ya 😚❤️

[rabbiteclair]

okay let's try this again, this time with my brain plugged in

overall, story-wise I admire the devs' efficiency of storytelling in introducing new groups of characters, giving you a peek at the relationship dynamics between them and what makes them interesting, and then immediately proceeding to 'and now it's time for you to kill them, because you are running an RPG dungeon for hapless adventurers to dive into.' Several groups here feel like they could be the protagonists of a shorter game in their own right. sorry I killed you guys but you know how it is.

Mechanically... not gonna get too deep into the game's overall systems at this point, but I think they did a pretty solid job of making each new story encounter an interesting challenge with something new to deal with. Once I sorted out the whole 'you don't have enough good key pages to outfit the entire library, you've gotta shuffle them around a lot or you're playing on hard mode' thing, nothing has felt ridiculously hard when I first unlocked it, but very few fights have felt all that easy either. (The 'nothing has felt ridiculously hard' part may change soon though, because somebody thought it was a good idea to fight the Red Mist again. goddamn it Angela, I just did that last game. At least dig up the Backward Clock for me to fall back on if you're gonna pull this shit.)

I'm not gonna go into every single reception, but hitting some of the highlights...

Streetlight: Probably the first group I felt really bad about murdering? Sorry Lulu. (Okay these early ones are gonna be kind of short, lbr they have a lot less going on than later stuff.)

Zwei: Whoops felt bad again. This time it was ameliorated by getting Walter's key page and going 'wait you're gonna just... let me do that? Is this actually okay?'

Carnival: is the point that made me stop and go 'oh man these devs know how to do some weird transhumanism stuff,' and that basically doesn't let up for the rest of the game. On the other hand this is also the point where I kinda sighed and started finding all the endless industrial uses for dead humans a bit on-the-nose.

Dawn: well I can see no way that killing these guys could go poorly, not like one of them will have a days/weeks-long breakdown and turn into a swarm of flaming cherubs that kill tens of thousands of people or something haha. Yuna deserved more/cooler mechanics. Solo Fixer who carries her gear around in a guitar case or something and shows up like 'hey I just beat up some crazy stuff by myself.' make Yuna cooler you cowards.

Gaze: Gaze Office is cool as hell. I love them. Love their fucking C memory management joke names. (Which are apparently also Korean puns or something.) Love their weird rainbow camera heads. Too bad that they're kinda mechanically trash. They were one of the easiest fights for me, and I've never found much use for... anything they do, really.

Kurokumo: thus begins the era of Slashing Builds. this era has not yet actually ended for me.

Bremen: I actually felt a bit bad for these guys too. I mean sure they're murderers but they seem so earnest about it, and they did get their heads messed with by supernatural forces. But also why didn't you losers give me blunt power abilities. You should really take after Sayo more. I'm sure she's a fine role model.

Love Town: [banging pots and pans together] LOVE TOWN LOVE TOWN LOVE TOWN. listen the entire story here is so absurdly horrible and over the top that it's almost funny, but I feel like if you're gonna get invested in these games you've gotta be capable of looking at 'so they all spent millennia locked in a train and unable to die until the few who still retained some of their sanity sewed their bodies together into Flesh Amalgam Creatures to fight off their zombified comrades' and pumping your fist instead of pointing out that that all seems like a bit much. Tomerry was an interesting fight but at the same time, never wanna do that again. Some of my well-meaning friends warned me to gird my stomach for this section, unaware of just how much body horror media I've consumed over the years.

Sweepers: On one hand? I kinda came out of this liking the Sweepers themselves, despite everything. Aw, they're just a big happy family, makin' their way in the world. just, Their Way just happens to involve a lot of meathooks and, uh, liquefying people to make special goo or something? On the other hand fuck this fight. Even now that I've beaten it several times, I still hate it. This begins the pattern of 'nothing that is happening here, mechanically, is moral or just.'

Shi: okay look I don't have much to say about Shi itself. this is a basically-unrelated sidebar. You know how Yujin's key page gives you that broken speed die? I am cursed so that every single big attack targets it, and always with a really high speed so I can't intercept. A boss has some once-per-fight attack that's like '8-21 damage, on hit: stagger the target, apply 5 Fragile next round'? it's gonna target Yujin's broken die, with a speed of like 6-7, every single time. My friends assure me that this isn't intentional and I'm just very unlucky, but I'm this close to retiring the page and ripping the good parts off to use elsewhere. I've seriously lost four or five big fights over Yujin suddenly getting ripped in half three rounds in, or getting smacked with a 'if this hits anybody you automatically lose the fight' attack, with no ability to defend.

8 o'clock Circus: fuck this fight. Oswald isn't in it, but I appreciate his whole deal though. Like, he's not a good guy. I'm not even sure I like him. But it takes some skill to be an interesting fucked up clown in 2023, and he manages it.

Smiling Faces: I love how even after you read their books, there's no real explanation of what their deal is. at this point the game's just like 'look, they're weird old folks who chop people up or something and like to take fat bong rips, you can probably name a dozen explanations for all of this at this point.' The fight itself is an absolute pain thanks to Deep Drag, but your reward is... being able to hit enemies with Deep Drag. I don't like smoke builds as much as most people, it seems, but I'll concede that when they do work they're great. And, I mean, I still put a smoker on most teams up until fairly recently.

Crying Children: sometimes a fight is just too fucking long. I'm sorry Phil "the big sad baby" McFixer, but if you want me to get invested in your personal character arc you've gotta limit your boss fight to like five phases tops. (Angela is exempt from this of course.)

WARP Crew: see the Love Town bullet above, but also I felt pretty bad about killing these guys too. Sorry Lesti. Also I find it very funny that part of the reason behind the VIP seats is to make sure that anybody with really expensive combat augs is not waiting for them inside the train after spending about two millennia losing their goddamn mind.

Blue Reverb/Church of Gears: I really expected this fight to be harder but let's be real I haven't seen the last of this asshole.

Cane: I'm just here for Nemo, babey.

R Corp: hhhhh. For one thing, this fight is a fucking slog, and it opens up with possibly the hardest act of its three. For another, you're gonna make me kill Myo? Really? On the upside: Rabbit-based titles for everyone. I haven't beaten this reception yet since I only tried it once so far and went in unprepared for some of the tomfoolery, but I still got within about two hits of winning, so I'm confident I'll get it next time.

Night Awls/Udjat/Kim/Dong-hwan: yesssss give me your stuff. I could've gone without having to fight the Udjat though.

[nochi-quinn]

legend of vox machina watch party episodes 1-3: billfrito

why does all the amazon lovm merch look SO BAD

let laura bailey run your merch department amazon

amazon merch: focus-tested, advertiser friendly, bland

cr official merch: laura bailey wanted a thing so she made it, superior, personal

matt: I play The Entire Rest Of The World

are they already drunk or just goofy

the eternal question

"tall and lovely" literally nobody remembers sam is tall

djfskj he matches the sofa

GILMORE-SCENTED

oh HE'S already drunk

"that's five more trinkets than ever appear in the show"

travis in the calamity merch

aw, but mica's speech

I have absolutely forgotten how to use the watch party

oh right I don't get video until twitch says I get video

EPISODE ONE

"what could go wrong"

"I don't know what that means"

see, even this has better quality than the actual prime video player

"everybody be quiet I'm talking"

75k?!

I mean it makes sense but also that's A Number

"it's sleeping gas"

Nickelodeon Presents Legend of Vox Machina

WIZARDS

well she's a sorceror but WIZARDS

I was really hoping liam would be in this one but I'm beginning to understand why he's not

can you imagine

mb next time for maximum trauma

"that was my child" "sam's kids die all the time in this show"

"and then this happens"

THORDAK

I didn't notice the lens flare in the city shot beforeeeeee

"I don't wanna say yes until I know what happens" that's amazing

"don't let your shop fall on you next time"

"freak-ass"

I love that travis watches the reaction videos

"we should get rid of that"

Just A Broom™

"if the spork doesn't work you have no choice"

"no horses were harmed"

oh WOW

give them all raises

animation should win cinematography

Sam's Kids Watch

I still regret the loss of Kiki's friendship with the Sun Tree

s a m

"and it makes for really great desktop wallpapers"

"buildings were still…up"

"when I did it in their imaginations"

OH SHIT I want THAT for a wallpaper

these are fucking gorgeous

FLORIDA DRAGON

"I'm from there, I can say that"

I enjoy so much that matt has just leaned into wearing comfy pants to every event

jesus

the scrawlings of a madman

Big Dragon is Big

mica

who is that skinny motherfucker

THERE'S gilmore

I don't know who that other guy was. dark gilmore.

skinny gilmore isn't real, he can't hurt you

"I'm dying, show me your tits"

ahhh sketchy thordak

"big mistake giving sunil a catchphrase"

"remember when TVs had dials? I don't, I wasn't alive then"

travis is already in despair

y'all know what you were getting into when you let her host again

did travis just go "have fun storming the castle"

EPISODE TWO

it is nice to hear dani

"the internet is still just a concept"

will!!

the persistence of my crush on will friedle is astounding

ABC's TGIF veterans sound off

"someone had to design this!"

Ethereal Butt Scoops

will

"you're in this one!" "I know, I've heard"

Australian Accent Guy

I have not sat down and tried to hear the main cast in the background yet

there you go, it was Caduceus, but not For Real Caduceus, just Easter Egg Caduceus

"the armor looks a lot like Kima's armor!" "yeah, imagine that"

"we had to change it, the first take she was watching The Boys"

She

"if you put a backwards hat on [kashaw] it would fit"

He

STABBY WHEELCHAIR

memelords

matTHEW

josh turner, she's talking about josh turner

spoilers will

I love that they get to record together again but I

will's first ever animated swear!

terry deserved to swear lbr

"that was horrible" "it was fun!"

he's just so proud of himself. and so wrong.

"okay byeeee"

ONE PERSON did all of this?!

osysa's facial animation is so fucking good

sassy arrogant woman on sassy arrogant woman violence

memelords

victor!

taliesin just sneezed somewhere

Bill Frito

ART

aww, them coming up with story for kash and zahra just 'cause they could

OSYSA CONCEPT ART

why is there an audio desync when I have my headset off but not with it on

I'm unfortunately having to use this as a break to check on my kid

I desperately need Victor Award Speech

I don't even care if it's just a Victor Laugh at the end. I need this.

I Saw Green Once

"oh he's a dick!"

"you really crafted the perfect fuckboi"

ANIMATED CALAMITY???

MATT IF IT'S ANIMATED CALAMITY YOU HAVE TO TELL ME OTHERWISE IT'S ENTRAPMENT

"please get out"

I need my kid's pancreas to quit fucking up so I can put my headset back on, I missing so much crosstalk orz

DANI CARR 👏👏👏

it ain't called chaos couch for nothin

professionalism, we don't know her

"no we got a few more bits"

will did you not catch my TGIF shoutout earlier, I absolutely remember dial-up

EPISODE THREE

"that's the head of the CCP" M A T T H E W

justice for dexter the cute dragon

Skipping the Intro Is A War Crime

"who did that? I hope he's awesome" "yeah about that"

"tieflings are so cool" "just tieflings, not that other asshole"

will's shirt is doing an optical illusion on the picture in picture

"like taking the laugh track out of mash" that's a really good analogy actually

forever in awe of travis' ability to hit that pitch

I changed my twitter name to 'do not go far from me' bc I chose violence

[psychonauts 1 voice] YOU, tree-sitter!

I still cannot hear troy baker here, I am ashamed of myself

"he's a bit of an ass, you've got this"

"complete with traps" "SPOILERS"

I do love zahra's face there

"this is just travis as a player" noted Big Red Button addict travis willingham

"stay away from her! get a job!" dslkfjls

I wondered how much of this was or wasn't from kith and kin, I haven't had the chance to read it

I'm absolutely in awe of foley artists

I always felt like travis was living vicariously through grog with the beard, since he had to shave his for mocap work at the time

"I think your beard is evil!"

"'cause mary sucks in real life and I'm the nice one"

"there's never a time when they just turn around and go home" this is why Campfire Cooking In Another World is excellent, the protagonist is just like "no 🥰"

still in love with vex's little ear twitch

the way they all just went SILENT

"I don't wanna cry on national television"

you are not immune to liam o'brien

"you spelled my name 'troy baker'"

nope, no pokeball yet

(they are definitely not allowed to call it a pokeball) (I am under no such restrictions)

"that was definitely on purpose"

"we should finish those episodes"

"JUST MAKE THIS ONE BLACK AND WHITE"

I'm torn btwn "ha ha funny d&d wife jokes" and "that's actually important to communicate before it has the CHANCE to be a problem"

oh SHIT this concept art

"control water moses style"

"the damned missionaries showed up"

"their dicks are teeth"

NOT THE XENOMORPH

"do not make fanart of that"

matt if you get to say that out loud fcg gets to have a flesh tongue

"hashtag - " "NO"

grog and bacon edge was a+

that time he made scanlan drown out him in the outhouse so he could talk to it

"oh no we all share one brain cell, this is horrible"

matt say the names out loud before you get to the table, I've been saying this for years

CR 13 Pedobear

"obsessed with that" "you should not be"

"I showed these episodes to my kids" sam no

Dark is Not Evil

oh right kestrel came up with marisha's space frog

"we're gonna show up and talk behind you"

the episodes drop three hours before critrole for me, rip my thursday nights

drop the video will. will drop the video. will.

"I UNDERSTAND THAT REFERENCE"

"iono" "MATTHEW"

OH THE NECKLACE

them threatening matt until he picks a voice to do

"WHO'S SCRATCH KASH"

their dream guest stars have a habit of just being their guest stars

Bill Frito Can Do Anything

mica are you talking abo - you're talking about your dad

"I cannot do that."

ROBBIE

I miss him

that's right, will nuked all his socials

(good for him)

"you can" "get fucked"

mica just going "END"

[phoenixyfriend]

Character meme: KARIN!

A more detailed character meme! Send me a character and I’ll answer…

What I like about them: We love an angry bitch with a tortured background who just got spiteful and stabby instead of Soft And Nurturing. Yeah sure there's a place for 'their pain only made them kind' but what about those whose pain on made them assholes? (They're in Team Taka, all of them.)

What I dislike about them: I mean, lbr Kishimoto does a bad job writing women in general, but also I just. Really dislike the 'comedic pervert' faces he gives her sometimes.

Favourite moment: Kicking Suigetsu after she breaks out of prison because she took her glasses off.

Least favourite moment: The infamous "gonna jump him" that gets mistranslated by everyone.

A situation with this character that I want to see explored more: Interacting with Tsunade after the Fourth War, with the background of how she healed Tsunade then.

An interesting AU for this character: I'm always a sucker for "Karin is saved by Naruto, not Sasuke, in the Forest of Death, or at least overhears his shouting about being an Uzumaki."

A crossover Hear me out but Karin intersecting with Hellsing Ultimate? A horrible time for everyone? Yes?

OTP (or OT3+ etc…. just… favourite ship) SasuKarin (no surprises there)

Other ships? Mostly femslash, I like InoKarin and SakuKarin pretty well. TenKarin is fun, too. Tobirama, also, but that's for other reasons.

BROTP Juugo!

NOTP I have minimal NOTPs for her, honestly. I do find some of them uninteresting

An assortment of headcanons! - Her hair started out as an attempt to salvage damage done by fire or gum - Her skills veer much more heavily into "lab manager" territory than she'd ever planned for, but people are just so incompetent and disorganized and agh - She has a notebook filled with theories about how well Suigetsu would boil, which she sometimes leaves out if he's been annoying her, so she can see him worry.

[crossdressingdeath]

(Mind flayer Durge anon again) Oh wow so. I did not know ANY of that mind flayer lore. I just did some more reading on some wikis too and what the fuck. My only experience with mind flayers had been Bg3 itself and god the game really brushes past all that huh. I very much get WHY they chose to make it vague in the context of the story they wrote, but I very much do NOT get why they wrote the story that way in the first place if they knew enough about it to know they had to leave it vague. Anyway never mind my previous ask lol, I really did think it was just your new Squid Forme and a resistible urge to eat brains until a few minutes ago.

Also you are so right about Omeluum. Lbr the fact that Larian wanted the contrived conflict over the pc having to turn themself or someone else into a mind flayer, is exactly the reason why Omeluum thee mind flayer ally only gives you a bag of potions when even characters like Mol (literal child) and Valeria (famously lazy) and Mizora (evil!!!!) will show up to help your ass in the final battle. It’s kind of an insane plot hole actually but whatever I guess 😭

Yeah, Larian kind of leaves it at "You're MONSTROUS now, you've got TENTACLES and you EAT BRAINS" and like... no. You're dead. You die. The tadpole devours your brain. The "you" that exists post-transformation is an echo made from your memories, and there's honestly no real reason to believe that that echo is going to last; mind flayers generally don't retain much of their host's personality, and the fact that you seem to be the same person now doesn't mean you're going to stay that way. It seriously undercuts the whole "sacrifice" angle of the transformation that the writing treats it like it's basically fine. One of the things making Omeluum Best Squid is that unlike the Emperor it does not claim to be the same person it was; the Emperor's like "No no I'm still Balduran, really, I'm definitely the same person, trust me!" but Omeluum just... is a person. Not the same person it was, but a person all the same. But I suspect Larian not going into why turning into a mind flayer is a really really really really really bad thing is why we get things like people acting like the LIs not breaking up with the player if they go full illithid is The Only Correct And Loving Choice (despite the fact that both "you eat brains now and can barely control yourself" and "you're not actually the person I fell in love with, you're a tadpole-based echo that likely won't last" are extremely valid reasons to break up with someone; let's be real, most people would break up with their significant other under those circumstances) and people insisting that letting Karlach go full mind flayer so she doesn't have to go to the Hells is her best ending: despite "if we don't do something we'll turn into mind flayers" being the inciting motivation of every act one companion, Larian did a really bad job of properly establishing why that's such a bad thing beyond the basic "tentacles and brain-eating" thing.

And I didn't even think of it, but you're probably right that Omeluum doesn't show up for the final battle because otherwise it would be really obvious that there was a solution to this issue that didn't require anyone turning into a mind flayer. Although honestly even if Omeluum didn't exist I think it would feel incredibly contrived; Larian, please explain to me why we need a mind flayer to control the Netherbrain when non-transformed and imprisoned Orpheus working alone and without the Netherstones already has the power to keep it at bay. Please! RPG writers! You do not need to cram Horrible Dilemmas With No Right Answer into the endgame! Sometimes it's okay to end the game by just fighting an evil guy! Or an evil brain in this case!

[ammoniteflesh]

It’s ✨my birthday✨ today, and thus I feel justified in doing some shameless self- (and others!) promotion. Reading and leaving a (positive!!!!) comment on any of these fics would be a fab present, if you’re so inclined. Tags and warnings on AO3. :)

Fics That I Wrote!

The Path of Aching Blood - My large ongoing project retelling the Fifth Blight through the lens of Morrigan, Alistair, and Ghila Mahariel. Featuring: bi Alistair and bi Morrigan; a lot of big repressed gay feelings; spooky Blight content; visibly elf-blooded Alistair; the complicated matter of saving a world that would much rather see you dead. Has gone without updates for a while but I am still working on it (and, frankly, I’m p damn proud of what’s there). For Love of the People - A short one-shot set in TPoAB canon, in which Ghila goes to her first Arlathvhen following the Fifth Blight. Featuring: leftist infighting elvhen politics; the joy of going home; the grief of knowing you can’t go home, not really. Originally written for Dalish Appreciation Week. The Hermit, Reversed - A character study of Merrill, with some bonus pre-relationship Merrill/Isabela/f!Hawke. Featuring: the feeling of being alone even when you’re not (especially when you’re not); interactions with spirits manifesting as experimental POV; being in love with your best friends; Merrill asserting her selfhood and strength. Originally written for the Arlathan Exchange. Fics That I Think Are Cool! Mostly Dragon Age because, lbr, that’s what pretty much all of my followers are here for but I’ve sprinkled some other fandoms in too. Canary by Anbaricity - Never talked about it on here before but I adore Revolutionary Girl Utena - and I especially adore my fave horrible little deranged weirdo, Nanami. This is, imo, the Nanami fic. A beautiful exploration of her character through her interactions with other members of the cast. Tether by @breadedsinner​ - A beautiful exploration of Judith Hawke’s grief, trauma, and eventual healing as she escapes from the Fade. Features some absolutely amazing character work - Judith is one of my favourite OCs in all of fandom, she’s so unbelievably well-fleshed out. Besides which, the care and tenderness with which this is written really make it shine. Fab stuff. things that die over and over by @potatowitch​ - This was written for me in the Arlathan Exchange and oh my god it’s everything I wanted and more. Velanna and Sigrun talk about happiness and othering and the Grey Warden death sentence; written in the most incredible prose. The Folding Light in the Dark series by Leaves_Turning - A brilliant slow burn between Zevran and Thoryn Surana, with intrigue and spooky Fade shenanigans galore. The sheer atmosphere in these fics is off the charts, and there’s some brilliant takes on pretty much every canon character in there. I paticularly love how they make use of in-game dialogue, recontextualising it and elevating it to something far more complex and vivid in the process. Waiting for Destiel: A Tragicomedy in One Act by Kalya_Lee - Look. Listen. Are you nostalgic for the chaos of November 2020? Do you like noted postmodern playwright Samuel Beckett? Would you like to read a parody of Waiting for Godot making fun of canon Destiel? Of fucking course you would. Go read this. You May Forever Tarry by FaustianAspirant - Another thing I’m into but have never talked about on here: Deep Space 9! This honestly feels like it could’ve come straight from canon, but with a level of warmth and intimacy that canon wishes it could achieve. A wonderfully touching diptych of vignettes for Garak/Bashir and Jadzia/Worf.

[glompcat]

Do you watch My Adventures With Superman? I feel like you would like it

I have been, and the first six episodes very much were my jam, they felt like after years of being burnt by DC to a point where I actively trained myself to stop caring - and more recently feeling like they specifically felt queer Jews should fuck off (Batwoman followed immediately by the Harley Quinn animated show was such a gut stab and very loud announcement on their part that if any of their queer Jewish characters were to star in something outside of comics they must leave their Jewishness behind) they were starting to redeem themselves.

However I really disliked a lot of "Kiss Kiss Fall in Portal" and it makes me wary of the show moving forward. Granted I basically have been doing my best to ignore DC since the insult that was the new 52, but back when I was a superfan of DC comics one of the key events in any timeline where Superman went evil was Lois died horribly and Clark was twisted up over it. Suggesting that throughout the multiverse Clark goes evil in enough timelines where Lois is alive and well that a collective of Lois's from across the multiverse would be packing Kryptonite and refuse to give him the benefit of the doubt really left a horrible taste in my mouth.

Additionally the way the multiverse Lois's behaved towards the one we are currently following did not feel true to the character to me. That is without getting into why I disliked the League of Lois's in the first place! Lois is not a scifi hero, and the idea that she actually is one in all the other universes - including ones we have followed in the past ourselves such as the DCAU and the dang Fleishman cartoons - really falls flat for me. Lois Lane is the greatest journalist of any universe she is in, defined by her unhinged willingness to do anything to get a story and bravery in the face of danger that puts metahumans to shame. Lois does not need any sort of dimension hopping craft or kryptonite guns or anything like that to be a badass.

Obviously I have no issue with the multiverse itself, DC has had a very well established and robust multiverse ever since the Silver Age when the Silver Age characters and the Golden Age characters would travel from Earth-1 to Earth-2 to have meetings, the only way to get rid of that multiverse is a Crisis and no one wants that, but the whole episode felt badly constructed to me and a truly badly thought out way to introduce doubts in Lois's mind about Superman's innate goodness, and probably also Krypton and Clark learning more about himself. There are far easier ways to establish these things, and even tie them directly to Lois's conflicted feelings about Sam Lane while setting up the big reveal that ~The General~ is General Sam Lane, Lois's father.

What made the show a delight up to that point was a sense that the creators really got what makes these particular characters so iconic they have stood the test of time. Clark being the most powerful man in the universe and also a total sweetheart. This is a character who was literally designed by Jewish immigrants in the 1930s to be a symbol of hope! He is supposed to cut through the noise of a toxic society to show a better way while also of course being an outsider trying to fit in. Lois being tenacious in the pursuit of a story to the point where it puts herself and everyone around her in danger - and that being exactly what Clark loves about her. Jimmy being a chipper and perpetually kinda youthful figure who loves his friends and they love him too (even if, lbr, Jimmy often also kinda annoys the often much older Lois and Clark) and rolls with the punches.

However the set up of that last ep went out of its way to single these versions of the characters out and say they are different from other versions of themselves.

I am not giving up on the show yet - I am hopeful with time the writers will find a way to redeem this plot they are setting up, but for right now? I felt like that episode missed the mark in a way that casts a long shadow over the rest of the show.

[juniperhillpatient]

I feel like over explaining my thought process behind aspects of happenstance, not because anyone asked just because I love rambling about my projects & hey - maybe if ur a reader you’ll find it interesting idk. I take a very specific approach to the “he would not fucking say that” vs “it’s fanfic that’s the whole point” dichotomy of fan creation & it’s “under what circumstances would he say that?” it’s all about pushing the characters to new limits & playing with them in new genres & with different backstories (that still take from their core canon backstories but change things slightly. changing it too completely defeats the purpose for me but that’s another post)

under the cut you’ll find me ranting & raving about my own character writing & psychoanalyzing Azula, Katara, & Jet the three most important characters lbr

let’s start with a question. I haven’t seen it recently but I’ve seen it before for this story & I like talking about the worsties a lot so - “why are Jet & Azula best friends when they’re constantly horrible to each other?” because they’re both the absolute worst next question <3 just kidding I’m going to elaborate. to understand this dynamic (which none of the other characters really do, side note) you gotta understand these 2 are not friends despite being awful to each other - the fact that they get to be awful is a big reason they’re such good friends.

Azula & Jet share some very unpleasant character traits that other fans might prefer to downplay or have them work on in fics but that contribute to my love for them - they’re both deeply manipulative & more often than not treat relationships transactionally based on what they get out of it. there’s exceptions obviously where each of their more endearing traits persevere in some relationships but they are absolutely not each other’s exception - the opposite. they get to be cruel to each other & sabotage each other & arguably each get a sense of satisfaction (or at least feel better about themselves) watching the other’s failures (Azula actively find’s entertainment in Jet’s lack of ability to have a stable relationship, the second Jet notices Azula’s relationship slipping he considers making a move, she used his horrible drunk driving accident against him & he mocked her for her lack of sexual experience & for her addiction etc etc)

I think there is something deliciously addictive to both Jet & Azula about a friend they can be their worst self around & toward hence why there is no boundaries to how nasty they can be & they will always forgive each other instantly because they both feed on letting their crueler tendencies reign free on a target that won’t flinch away & will be awful back validating them that they aren’t THAT bad because the other is Like That too.

so why did Jet almost kiss Azula in the latest chapter despite this clearly being a horrible idea? why did she act so flirty & practically invite a kiss? why did Katara not get upset about it?

let’s start with Jet. aside from being a slut, Jet has emotional intelligence mostly just when it’s convenient for him & right now it’s not. so. I don’t think he’s considering how much this would hurt Zuko & Jin, instead convincing himself there’s a scenario where it would be fine. I think Jet tends to view things from a selfish lens on a personal level. his politics are about helping people (…kind of. but maybe even more about hating the fire nation) & he views himself as a caretaker for people like Smellerbee & Longshot but he also likes to see what he can get away with at all time. this is totally based on brief canon stuff btw - Jet absolutely sees Katara’s attraction to him & uses it to his advantage so he can make his flood plan happen not caring if the truth would upset Katara even if he does seem to like her & want her approval. what he wants to see happen is more important. if Jet were forced to stop & think & empathize he wouldn’t want to hurt Zuko & Jin like that but the blurred lines within the friend group & Azula’s behavior are a cocktail for disaster already & Jet’s selfish desire to push boundaries has been awakened.

it may sound like I hate jet but it’s actually just that John mulaney meme like “my wife is a bitch & I like her SO much” <3

I will also say - jets tendency to view relationships so coldly even when it’s people he deeply cares about (in his own messy way) is a byproduct of being a kid who raised other kids. he HAD to develop a cynical & hard outlook because he saw his family killed & took on raising his friends - including turning to criminal activity at an extremely young age. that doesn’t happen without warping a person. Jet & Katara’s trauma is actually very similar in the sense of growing up fast but they react in almost opposite ways. more on my girl katara soon!

last thing - there’s a much more subtle note of self destructive tendencies with Jet risking sabotaging his own relationship. like it’s mostly that he’s a selfish jerk but also he’s never had anything good last in his life & he’s at a weird “I didn’t think I would get this far what now?” moment. the boys most stable long term relationships are his besties who he views himself as a caretaker for. Jet doesn’t think he deserves anything good for himself despite his grandiose self aggrandizement suggesting otherwise at all times & he has no idea how to handle a real stable relationship. this insecurity is worsened when he expresses it to Azula & she mocks him & validates that uncertainty. (this is going on long enough so I won’t ramble too much more but. well Jet hating himself beneath the false swagger & having a history of self sabotage hopefully isn’t a huge shock in a story where he wanted to ignore medical treatment after getting hit by a semi & shrank & became uncharacteristically apologetic & meek when Zuko called him out for it…)

ok now let’s talk about Azula. my girl is just as ready to use people like pawns as Jet (she’s actually mostly more self aware about this character trait than him I think though not in this specific instance). but she wouldn’t cheat, right? correct! still - let’s get into a psychoanalysis <3

Azula doesn’t just love Katara. she’s deeply unhealthily infatuated with her. the bestie broke away from her dad & said “who can I treat like a god next?” & didn’t wait for an answer. Azula is fully incapable at this point in the story of being an individual. She has lived her entire life as a tool serving someone else’s whims & she doesn’t know how to stop. her entire self worth hinges on Katara’s approval… & no amount of validation will ever be enough when u have exactly zero self worth. Azula would never dream of being purposefully disloyal to Katara but what she would do is desperately seek validation from other sources because no one, not even Katara in all her desire to take care of people, can give Azula what she’s looking for & it’s left her with a hollow sense of self hate & emptiness that is impossible to fill yet she has no choice but to try.

i typically think Azula is very capable of manipulation EXCEPT romantically or flirtatiously because she has no clue how to flirt but I think with Jet in this scenario it’s different for several reasons. 1. their history 2. their by now extremely tight friendship. the fact that they find each other easy company when they’re not at each other’s throats is the other cornerstone of this dynamic 3. she’s not fully self aware of what she’s doing & if she was she would stop & punish herself, probably harshly.

Azula would deny it vehemently both outwardly & to herself if anyone tried to accuse her of seducing Jet. but the brief high she gets from his validation leads her to continue to act the way she does. Azula NEEDS any form of positive attention she can get because she has nothing without external validation:

onto Katara - why didn’t Katara give a shit that Jet tried to kiss Azula? there are a few reasons. Katara wears her heart on her sleeve & she treats others like they do as well even when there is evidence to the contrary. Katara takes people at their word & gets extremely hurt when she’s wrong. Azula has admitted many times to being closed off emotionally but Katara still continually expects Azula to be more open & honest than she is & gets hurt every time Azula makes herself difficult to read. this is because Katara sees it as her job to be emotionally responsible for the people around her. she grew up practically raising herself & her brother because their father couldn’t be fully present. this was in the aftermath of the extreme trauma of losing Kya - something Katara blames herself for. & she also blames herself anytime someone close to her experiences something negative, especially Azula who she’s designated herself as fully responsible for. hence why it KILLS katara that she cannot always read Azula & in this instance, she’s misreading Azula badly & she doesn’t even know it.

Katara doesn’t realize that the almost kiss is something Azula invited out of insecurity because Azula hasn’t opened up about that (because she’s not even self aware about it herself.) if katara understood that missing context, everything would change. Katara would instantly sympathize & be upset (for a multitude of reasons, certainly jealousy being up there but mostly out of a desire to fix Azula’s broken mental state) & she would try to give even more validation to Azula (an impossible task that would only lead to more hurt & stress for Katara because she’s already giving so much of herself.) But, again, she continually expects Azula to just explain things to her in a therapy speak that Azula is mostly terrible at (although she puts in an impressive effort at times thanks to character development & Katara’s pushing.) So, instead of understanding that this was a moment of deep insecurity for Azula, Katara reads the comment as “Jet was being Jet, he’s such a jerk sometimes but whatever we’re all used to it.”

Katara is right about something with Azula - Azula would never cheat. Now that Katara understands Azula’s extreme worship of her she is deeply disturbed by it & aware that it is not healthy for either of them. So - that’s her main concern. Fixing Azula’s problems & reassuring Azula are Katara’s priorities. There is no insecurity or concerns about Azula having a wandering eye - & there shouldn’t be because that’s not the issue! Katara just should’ve realized this was indicative of bigger issues rather than pushing the whole thing off on Jet being a bit annoying & slutty which is the easy answer - & Katara is desperate for easy answers right now.

a bigger problem for Katara is that she’s run into these problems she can’t fix with Azula - like their disagreement on the future, like Azula’s unhealthy hero worship or Katara - & it’s driving poor Katara insane because what is she good for if not compulsively fixing things?

Katara doesn’t have the emotional energy to stress over a friend trying to kiss Azula when she’s not worried about Azula cheating & their friend group is just kinda Like That anyway. all her energy is being used on looking for simple solutions to complex problems. Katara HATES this fight about the future because she can’t just fix it so she’d much rather deflect. she’s insistent they move on because she doesn’t have an answer so thinking about it is like torture. there’s no time to waste on some dumb almost kiss she NEEDS to focus on what she believes is a solution to this bigger problem- discussing a distraction! (the opposite of a solution. we love delusional girlies)

Katara’s view of herself as Azulas caretaker also means she’s DESPERATE to not fight, something that causes them both negative emotions (not that Katara gives a shit about her own negative emotions, she only views herself as worth anything if people around her are happy so it’s really about shielding Azula not herself). from Katara’s standpoint the almost kiss is a potential reason to fight & when they’re already fighting so much lately of course she’s determined to blow it off. she reacts with completely fake possessiveness only when she realizes that’s what Azula wants. & it’s silly & kinky but also sad because of course she sincerely thinks Azula is hers of course she doesn’t want Azula to be with anyone else but it’s still an act - it’s not about that sincere stuff - it’s about reacting how she thinks Azula wants her to. Azula’s tendency to try & please Katara to unhealthy degrees is more blatant but Katara does the exact same thing when it comes to behaving however she thinks she should to please Azula - to keep her mentally healthy & clean because Katara views that as her responsibility. also don’t assume katara isn’t mad at jet at all, but she knows how possessive azula is of that friendship & wouldn’t want to cause more issues between her & azula by making it a thing. doesn’t mean shes not a bit pissed at Jet.

Azula believes herself functionally useless if she’s not serving at someone’s altar & Katara believes herself functionally useless if she’s not constantly solving every problem & acting as a caregiver for someone- they’re perfect for each other! but also they’ve both taken these tendencies to the extreme in a way that is unsustainable & hurting them both.

so - that’s why the almost kiss played out the way it did & why Katara reacted (or failed to react) the way she did based on my analysis of my own characters.

thank you goodnight xoxo

tldr: Azula & Jet are the worst most selfish people but it’s ok cause they have trauma so they can be awful ✨as a treat ✨ & Katara is losing her goddamn mind but I’m sure a foursome on a pirate ship will fix her