#KILLING OFF 1/2 OF THE ONLY ENDGAME COUPLE????

[dengswei]

as a reader of the manhwa literally WHAT is going on in sweet home now 😭

[utilitycaster]

If I may, as we go into what appears to be the clear endgame for C3, I think the lessons to take from the ending of C2 within the fandom are:

Do not freak out about the possibility of the campaign ending sooner than you expected nor you personally wanted

Last minute twists are not impossible, but if your enjoyment rests on a sudden reversal in the final hour you are likely to be disappointed

Just because it happened in prior campaigns doesn't mean it will happen in this one

Don't count your chickens before they fail to hatch

There will probably be one shots if it's a serious enough plot hook that we can't get to

Disappointment and anger are fine but eventually you do need to get over it

For the record, I think the particularly unpleasant responses to the ending of Campaign 2 boil down to the fact that it wasn't nearly as clearly signaled (the formal announcement was like two weeks in advance and while in retrospect it makes sense, at the time it felt very abrupt); that despite two relationships being established and a third clearly on the way people had convinced themselves that there would be some kind of last minute twist and their anger is entirely because that didn't happen even though there was literally zero sign it would; the fact that Molly didn't come back; and the general atmosphere of the world in June 2021 - I watched the finale while on my first trip to see my family in over a year and a half. I also think the ship wars for C2 were as bitter as they were because of both the strength of the party's bonds; but also the echo chambers that developed during a lengthy hiatus; and Campaign 3 does not and never has had anywhere near that level of serious ship warring.

The structure of Campaign 3 has been different in many ways from that of Campaign 2, which was different from Campaign 1 - that's not to say you can't make comparisons across campaigns, but I would not make assumptions based on the length of prior campaigns (plus, we're already in the same ballpark of number of episodes as C1, and the same level going into the BBEG combat as C2).

If your happiness rests on any of the now three current couples in Bells Hells breaking up, you are a weirdly bitter person, and you are likely to be disappointed. On the other hand, if you're already annoyed that a plot thread will be dropped, while there's like...maybe three plot hooks I can think of and every single one is related to Chetney, who I think will only survive the finale if Travis is unable to find a satisfying way to kill him off, we've had some excellent one shots post-campaign for both Vox Machina and the Mighty Nein and I don't see why this would be any different.

And as always I will never tell you that you can't dislike something, though there are things that, if you dislike them, I will think less of your judgment. But stick to expressing disappointment and anger; if you find yourself wanting to write out violent threats on the internet, you need to back away for a good long while. But certainly wait to be disappointed by a campaign that's already ended, and not pre-mad at things that haven't happened (or failed to happen) yet.

[hainethehero]

So I made the mistake of stumbling onto the NOT STEVE ROGERS FRIENDLY tag today and..

You have to be a special type of delusional to be this obsessed with a character you don't like!??

Over 2k fics have the tag and are almost entirely Tony Stark-centered fics. I'm assuming these are the "fans" who totally buy into the MCU canon and don't know any other Captain America lore outside of what Feige and Whedon have done. Or, they're the "fans" who refuse to understand the politics behind Steve's character and how he was inherently undermined throughout the entire ten years of the MCU by the directors and writers for most of the films.

Because the arguments in most of these fics for being "not Steve rogers friendly" are really surface level shit like:

1) "Steve refused to sign the Accords and broke up the Avengers" (he was right & he didn't break them up, an overemotional Tony did when he refused to listen to Bucky's side of the story).

2) Steve fought Tony and almost killed him (yeah, like Tony didn't blast Bucky's arm off and shoot his repulsor rays directly at Steve).

3)Steve is homophobic (y'all are just making up reasons to hate this man atp)

4)Steve is racist (Steve hated racists & you'd know that if you read the comics, or you guys are just that deluded that you're making Steve racist & trying to project it as canon and therefore a "reasonable" explanation as to why you hate him)

5)Blaming Steve for Rhodey's accident (WHICH WAS TEAM TONY'S FAULT!)

6)YALL, THEY MADE STEVE THE BAD GUY IN A BROCK RUMLOW/BUCKY FIC! I stg I cannot make this shit up💀 Steve's bad for wanting Bucky to be Bucky again, but somehow Brock's the good guy for wanting Bucky to be the Soldier...

Steve left Bucky for Peggy (we'll get to this soon)

There's a hundred more irrational reasons for the Steve Rogers hate, but let me get to the WORST part.

THERE ARE BUCKY STANS WHO ARE ANTI-STEVE ROGERS.

And I'm sorry, no. I don't accept that you love Bucky Barnes but hate the one person he loves the most in the world.

They argued in a couple fics that "Bucky also went rogue after Siberia but he didn't want to associate with Steve, Nat & the rest of the team- WHO HELPED RESCUE BUCKY & EVENTUALLY EXONERATE HIM- but rather, he went off on his own & eventually Tony finds him, they hash it out and become friends to lovers."

Helppp???? Wdym Bucky isn't gonna stick with the one man he's been keeping diaries about to try and get back his memories? But he'll go to the one guy that re-traumatized him by blowing out his arm again?

Not only that, but Bucky absolutely hates Steve in some of these fics and the reason will be, "he left Bucky to go back to Peggy." Like, you cannot be a serious fan if you're still going with the Endgame canon. For a majority of us, we recognize Endgame as being nothing but terrible writing and mischaracterizations. Why are yall not analyzing and interpreting media critically? The MCU has never been on Steve's side and have always diminished his character in an attempt to make Tony the ultimate hero of the OG 6. Don't yall know the discourse? It's embarrassing atp.

And this is my stance on the entire thing: there's nothing wrong with writing fics about characters you don't necessarily like or aren't interested in. It's OKAY if you don't like Steve Rogers- but you've gotta be rational about him, instead of hateful. Most, if not all of these "anti-steve" fics are written in bad faith. Bad understanding of the character and pure, shameless mischaracterizations which just makes these types of fics fickle and weak- hilarious to read though cos that Brock one had me deadddd😭💀.

[gingerbread-in-july]

Under the cut lies my personal ranking of all of Spencer Reid's love interests, both actual and potential, from best all the way down to worst, plus a whole lot of unfiltered sassy commentary that nobody asked for. Then again, nobody asked for any of this, but my brain was just on one of its neurodivergent tangents. There's 11 total. Some of this- probably a lot of this- will piss some people off and I am truly sorry. I hope there's at least some other people out there who share my strong ass opinions.

1. Dorian Loker- I will never forgive these bitch ass writers for never following up on that storyline. He asked her out in Russian, for Christ's sake! One of the only times in the entire series he actually initiates a date with somebody. He complimented her coffee! For him, that may as well be a pickup line. He was finally moving on from Maeve. That was a huge fucking step. He was shy and unsure of himself, but he was clearly into her, he was flirting the best he could, and he fucking asked her out. Don't even get me started on him being into her enough to set aside his germophobia and touch her hand by the end of the episode. Or his gutted little expression when he realized he spoiled the book she was reading. They were adorable and they could have been everything. Of all the one-episode love interests, she's the one I'm most pissed at them for never fucking following up on. 

2. Ethan- They were not just friends. I read somewhere that Spencer was initially supposed to be bisexual. They might have scrapped that, but bi Spence still found a way. They for sure hooked up. For. Sure. The chemistry was just there. And I am not one of those weirdo bitches who are overly fetishistic toward m/m pairings. I'm too fucking gay myself to get off on two men together. But those two men for sure were a thing- and good for them. 

3. Austin the bartender- She was hot. They had chemistry. More chemistry than he did with his actual girlfriends. End of. 

4. Ashley Seaver- I know y'all hate her and that she wasn't technically a love interest. However, I guarantee that she would have been if they'd kept her around. They were definitely setting it up to be that way. And, you know what? They'd have been a damn cute couple. I'd have loved to see it. And no, the "sorry for asking" moment was not grounds to disqualify it. Everyone else said as bad or worse to him at some point. If you can ship him with a psychopath who drugged him, framed him for murder, got him falsely imprisoned and nearly killed, kidnapped and tried to kill his mother, and lied about r*ping him and getting pregnant? You can ship him with Ashley fucking Seaver. If you can ship him with his fucking doctor who used her own loneliness as an excuse to violate all kinds of professional and ethical codes? You can ship him with Ashley fucking Seaver. If you can, perhaps worst of all, ship J*id? You can ship him with Ashley fucking Seaver.

5. Lila Archer- I think their worlds were ultimately too different for them to work long-term, but I do think they would have made a sweet couple for a while. They would each give the other things that their worlds were lacking. They wouldn't have been endgame, but they'd have stayed good friends. Also, "bUt aMbEr hEARD" isn't the dunk you think it is. Johnny Depp is a rich, 60-something year old white man who is problematic as fuck in his own right- and he's never going to fuck you. 

6. Cat Adams- Do I want them to actually be together? No. Does she deserve him? Hell no. Would the people further down this list technically be better for him than her? Probably. But......the chemistry, y'all. The chemistry was there. Matthew and Aubrey just play far too well off of each other. 

7. Maeve Donovan- I didn't hate her, but she was just a vehicle to give Spencer more trauma. I don't think she was "the one," "the love of his life," or any of that other stuff some say. I don't think they'd have lasted if she'd lived. They didn't really know each other. She lied to him about having a whole ass fiancé she never told him about. God only knows what else he didn't know. He started out as her fucking patient, for God's sake. The ethical violations were out the ass. I don't think she'd have crossed those lines if she weren't feeling so vulnerable and isolated from having to hide from her stalker. At least, not if she's as smart as everyone claims she is. Everyone- including Spencer- only puts her on a pedestal because of the tragedy of her death and not knowing what could have been. What would have been had she lived......probably wouldn't have been all that great in the long run. 

8. Linda Kimura- I'll be honest, I don't recall a single damn thing about this woman. I forgot she even existed until I saw her pictured on a potential love interest compilation. While I don't recall them having any chemistry whatsoever, I'll still include her for the sole purpose of ranking her higher than the rest of these shit bombs. And speaking of bombs, that brings us to......

9. Dylan Einstein- For the life of me, I just don't understand why people go so hard for this pairing. It's like she was generated in a Mary Sue factory to fit some stereotype of what AI might imagine Spencer's ideal woman to be. Her last name is Einstein, for fuck's sake. I'd probably respect it more if they did just name her Mary Sue. They were trying too hard to present her as Girl Spencer. The bitch even wore a purple scarf! She also just came across as annoying and overly eager and seemed like she didn't really understand when to fuck off. She butted in too much while Derek and Spencer were trying to work. Some poster here said that the actress who played her shipped the character with Spencer. That is more than obvious in the way she plays her. It's like she read a bunch of Wattpad fic and decided to use the character to try for her Y/N moment. Can't blame a girl for trying, but that is one "love interest" I am glad was a one-off. 

10. JJ- What could I say that hasn't already been said? The J*id plot was painfully forced. Spencer has more chemistry with a fucking paperweight than he does with JJ. Do I love their friendship? Yes. Do I love watching Spencer interact with her kids? God, yes. But, he's Uncle Spencer, not Stepdaddy Spencer. The only way Spencer and JJ are more than friends is that they're found family. Will is an absolute saint of a husband. Fuck them writers for doing him dirty like that. Even pre-Will, Spencer and JJ just didn't have the chemistry like that. I'm glad they scrapped that bullshit early crush storyline after just one episode. Also, am I the only one who remembers Spencer being totally unaffected and not even giving half a shit when JJ finally came out to the team about being with Will? He said something along the lines of "We all knew already." He was so unbothered. No way in hell has he been "waiting for JJ" this whole time or whatever these clowns pulled out of their asses toward the end. Such a waste of a plot. Literally any other pairing would have made more sense. 

11. Maxine bitch ass Brenner- Here we are. Last and least. Even J*id was better than this shit. What the fuck even was the goddamn point of this bitch besides having an excuse to have Rachael Leigh Cook guest star? Too bad this is who she had to play. She was just rude as hell with her snark, her bitchy little expressions and the way she mocked the kids- elementary school aged kids- she taught. As if it was beneath her grandiose idea of herself. How could they for one second think that somebody like Spencer- somebody who loves kids, loves to teach and to learn and values education as much as Spencer- could ever like somebody like her? They were already having to cram way too much into too little space that last season. It was already a shit show. What the fuck was the point of adding her only to never bring her back? I mean, good call there at least because she sucked. I can only assume Spence realized how much she sucked and ditched her ass. She was just a pointless waste of time and never should have been a thing. I'm glad Spence made out with Cat in front of her and I hope it chapped her ass that he never kissed her that way. Glad her family didn't die, but she and they can all fuck all the way off down the road.

Thanks for sticking this one out if you did.

[candied-cae]

Okay... I finished OFMD S2...

And yeah, as much as it breaks my heart, this season disappointed me in so many different ways. There are a few things I absolutely adored, but a lot of it felt like a disservice to a lot of the work S1 did to establish the universe and its characters.

Oluwande gave Stede advice like one whole time this season, even though that was a big part of the first. Him consistently being supportive was such a light, and it was pretty much replaced with him just being generally bubbly (and I fucking loved watching him be bubbly and joyful, might I add, but it's different).

Jim's complicated relationship with the idea of taking vengeance wasn't brought up at all. Jim's relationship with Oluwande was absolutely shifted, even now, I cannot watch S1 with the knowledge that they're going to be played off as "best friends who hooked up once" and see it, they HAD to have been intended as an endgame couple in the beginning.

Frenchie didn't sing even once, despite the fact that the very first scene opens to his voice! Frenchie as a character was shrunken a ton, in general. Ed leaned on him a lot in S1, that was gone. Wee John was shown as his best friend, but how many words did they even exchange this season? They let him do another grift, but it didn't include Oluwande so (personally) it felt cheapened.

Wee John didn't make a single fucking joke about fire! Even though there was a lot of fire this season, and he made like three separate comments about arson in the previous one?!?!?! And, again, he barely even talks to Frenchie at all!

The Swede was benched for half the episodes, Buttons became a bird halfway through and possibly won't be coming back at all, Ivan was killed off with a one-liner, and Izzy died as a completely backwards version of himself that we were given almost no show of him transitioning into.

Izzy, who practically stole a bunch of other character's "moments" while they rushed through his redemption so they could kill him at the end and hope they got everyone attached to him enough to care. Izzy got to sing, Izzy got to play advisor to Stede, Izzy got to do drag with John, Izzy whittled a gift for Lucius instead of Pete, Izzy pretty much interrupted every single scene Gentlebeard had... It's just... frustrating.

Season 1 was revolutionary to me, but Season 2 just felt far more average in comparison. I don't know, I was so excited, and rewatching season 1 is still exhilarating, but season 2 just doesn't do as much for me. I really feel like it was the wrong choice to spend as much time as they did with Izzy when they still skipped almost the entirety of his "redemption," condense so many of the other characters to make for time, but still make sure we could fit in some incredible jokes.

One of the only things that didn't change for me, was the humor.

But about half of my favorite things just didn't exist these last 8 episodes, so I need to go drown myself in some fanfics.

[tk-duveraun]

11/? Luo Binghe is SO NORMAL about Shen Yuan

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 (here), 12

Read up through even numbered parts on Ao3

Luo Binghe dedicated all of his time to repairing his relationship with Shen Yuan. He cooked every meal, but kept the presentation plain rather than extravagant and showy. Some foods were completely banned. Anything that was considered a couple's food was off the table.

Ning Yingying helped fill in the gaps in his knowledge left by IRS's shitty writing. She also brought their masters peaches when Shen Yuan desperately wanted some and Luo Binghe couldn't bring himself to provide them.

Shen Jiu being fed his cooking also helped keep the behavior from seeming suggestive. Similarly, Luo Binghe did some of the laundry from both Peak Lords. He took care of outer robes and accessories, since he had knowledge of stain removal from silks and expensive cloth from his time in Blackswan. Meanwhile, Ming Fan washed or delegated their undergarments.

The pang in his heart at missing the opportunity to sniff Shen Yuan's inner robes was easily outweighed by his beloved's piece of mind.

Managing Qing Jing Peak's affairs brought to light another strange thing: Shen Yuan never left the mountain without another Peak Lord in his company. In IRS this had been explained by needing support or sudden dual cultivation for Without a Cure, but not only was Shen Yuan not suffering from the poison, but based on the records, this informal restriction existed for his entire tenure as Peak Lord.

Luo Binghe didn't like Ming Fan, but the Original Goods' cordial relationship with his shixiong was a boon.

"Really?" Ming Fan replied when asked about Shen Qingchun not leaving the peak alone. He leaned over Luo Binghe's papers and frowned. "I never noticed. He wasn't injured and his cultivation has always been stable."

Unlike Shen Qingqiu's went unsaid, but not forgotten given the deepening of Ming Fan's frown.

"Shizun," Ming Fan began, meaning Shen Jiu, "goes off peak frequently without an escort. He's always been the mind to Shifu's sword; it seems strange, though perhaps not." Ming Fan sighed and covered his eyes. "Shifu does seem to find himself in… unusual circumstances. It's probably nothing."

"Thanking Shixiong for his insight."

"Thank you for getting that stain out. I thought Shizun was going to kill me when I spilled his ink."

"I'll be leaving first." Luo Binghe finished the plesantries and returned Shen Yuan's records to Qing Jing's archives so no one else could look at them. Next he planned to look into the records from when Shen Yuan was a disciple, but those were stored on An Ding Peak. He would either need an excuse to access the files or an opportunity to break in.

The amount of important things Snowballing left out or just deliberately lied about was getting frustrating. Once again, Luo Binghe felt the deep desire to strangle him. Maybe when he was Shen Yuan's, his husband would teach him how to summon a soul from another world.

But that was a long term plan, for the moment he had to scout out An Ding. He had plenty of opportunities to scope it out, since Shen Yuan was constantly sending long letters to Shang Qinghua. Long enough that Luo Binghe had to give some credit to the fans that thought Shang Qinghua would be the endgame match for Shen Yuan.

Of course, even if Snowballing originally wanted that, Luo Binghe was here now for his wife.

Luo Binghe was full of grace and not anger. Luo Binghe liked Ning Yingying because she gave Shen Yuan peaches and all of the delightful treats he didn't allow himself to give his master. If he kept repeating those things to himself, he wouldn't do anything rash.

Luo Binghe took a deep breath and used the support beam above him to drag his body another few inches under the Bamboo House. Ning Yingying had brought a cat on peak. Not a terrible a idea, given that Shen Yuan loved all critters and they loved him in return. However, this cat was a queen on the edge of birth. So she had immediately found a loose board and weaseled her way underneath Shen Yuan's beloved home and had her kittens.

So now he was crawled on his back under the Bamboo House trying to remove the kittens. At least they were only three days old and wouldn't try to run away and squirm. He just wished he had the space to roll over. Moving would be easier on his stomach, but he didn't think he could bring his delicate cargo out that way.

His hair was a rats nest full of dirt and rocks. The robes were a complete loss. He should have changed out of his special, personal disciple robes for it, but he didn't think that far ahead and thus all of his beautiful embroidery would have to be done again. He liked Ning-shijie and might even, one day, forgive her for this disaster.

Worst of all, he couldn't hear a word from above, so either it wasn't as if he could use this opportunity to eavesdrop.

With his precious burden — three kittens — stuffed down the front of his robes, he began the long, indecorous wiggle back out. With the hard part complete, he let his mind wander, vaguely examining the fine construction that went into his wife's home.

Until he might as well as been slapped in the face. Before Meng Mo could realize something more interesting that kittens was happening, he threw up his mental shields.

There, through the raw Barbed Field Sheep's wool that served as insulation, was a complex array carved into the bottom of Shen Yuan's floorboards. There was blood in the grooves, enforcing and powering the spell. Luo Binghe felt his sweat freeze and his chest still for a moment before he was scrambling fiercely out of the crawlspace.

He didn't even care as his robes tore and he felt rocks dig into his flesh. Shen Yuan was in danger! What was this plotline? Did Snowball include anything important in that stupid book?

[tbhimnoteasyonmyself]

15 Day BL Challenge - DAY 18

We're of age, guys!!! 🥳🥳🥳 sdksjdksjdksj

What Show Are You Waiting Most (Im)Patiently For?

Well... We can all agree GMMTV lineup killed it for 2025 and we're all absolutely fucking gagged, right? So like, I'm sorry everything else but... I gotta go talk about it some more. More specifically:

Ticket to Heaven

Listen. I know. Homophobia and the catholic church, what is new? And you're right, nothing really, but like... I grew up in a heavily catholic country (Portugal). I was forced to attend catechesis twice a week for 4 years, I was forced to go to church and swear to God. I was baptized and went through a 1st Communion against my will. As much as I have renounced the faith, the trauma is still very much here. And so is, at least partially, the catholic guilt.

Needless to say I'm bonkers excited about this series and if it's terrible I'm never gonna forgive this company in my life.

This being said pls hand me the seminary gays, already!!!! I will take it. Gladly. Especially if the gift is delivered by Fourth and Gemini, my beloved.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Mu-Te-Luv; Only Friends: Dream On; Burnout Syndrome & Revamp

Mu-Te-Luv is probably gonna be a HUGE mess with all those fucking plots HOWEVER, they sold me:

cultists;

NEO IN A BLONDE WIG;

Yatch with eyeliner;

Fluke and Lego serving cunt like we all knew they could;

Prem;

BLONDE LONG-HAIRED NEO, ARE YOU GUYS LISTENING???;

OhmLeng;

Tarot;

Spiritual Possession;

DID I MENTION NEO????

So I am compelled. Can't lie, I really am.

And I'm here to bite my tongue bc I did say multiple times Only Friends didn't merit a season 2 and yet HERE I AM: ROOTING FOR IT! Well... What can I say? I meant when I said that before that I didn't need any more stories about those season 1 couples and by that I do stand. But messy theatre gays??? Completely unrelated to that other mess??? AND BOSTON??? SIGN ME THE FUCK UP, C'MON!!!

Burnout Syndrome... Well, it caught me off guard. I am, as a general rule, not usually very excited about anything OffGun related (#sorrynotsorry) (as Teri said upon noticing the only kiss was a back shot underwater "GMM knows they can't sell their kisses" and I definitely blame this on Off, why is he always disgusted, only god will know, pay me to kiss Gun and you shall have one oscar worthy scene but okay, I digress...) but this one got me. The aesthetic was appealing and the plot interesting. My only complaint is that, idk, making a love triangle plot with an established pair in there is kinda unfair to the narrative but hey, if they wanna surprise me and make DewGun endgame I will gladly bite my tongue again.

Revamp, Revamp... Am I even confident they're still gonna produce this? No, not really. After the betrayal that Wuju Bakery was, I don't trust anyone anymore but still... I really want vampire Boun in my life. Therefore I shall believe.

[gildedlavender]

Ok, so here are my very long winded thoughts about OBX part 2. This might be a lot, but I’m not only heartbroken but extremely angry. First, fuck the Pates/Shannon. Finding out that the creators of your favorite show not only hate JJ and Kiara, but also their fans is awful. Having the nerve to sit there and say all that bullshit to try and justify killing JJ? If Rudy wanted to leave, which it’s sounding like that, they gave JJ the worst end possible and tried to ruin his character just to spite him, which is pretty evil. They could’ve written him off any other way with an easier possibility to come back next season. Not to mention them talking about possibly making Riara a thing?! Excuse me?! Kiara would never be with anyone else in the last season, let alone him. I swear to god if they try to pull that shit, Madison better raise hell on that set, because no one hates Riara more than her.

The disrespect to not only JJ but Kiara as well just baffles me. They made Kiara lose her soulmate and now she’ll be the only one who’s alone and miserable. JJ going through hell the whole second half of the season only to have no character development, his friends not be there for him or seem to care about what he’s going through, then die and barely have anyone except Kiara react?! He was abused his whole life, only for his real father to kill him. What kind of an ending for a beloved character is that? JJ literally died for no reason. He’d given Chandler what he wanted already. Having him still die afterwards was just cruel and unnecessary. Not to mention, his death felt weird and rushed. First, instead of running away after giving Chandler the crown, they just stand hugging in his vicinity, then when JJ gets stabbed, Kiara just stands there and doesn’t intervene until he’s done getting stabbed? Then, you expect me to believe he died that quickly afterwards, when Sarah got shot and they had time to drive her all that way before she “died” and came back to life? Rudy gave a good performance, and Madison gave a pretty good one, but I needed more from her in that scene. Everyone else’s reactions were off as well. Why was nobody trying to get him to a hospital, put pressure on his wound, or do CPR? Why wasn’t everyone sobbing and doing everything they could to keep him alive? Then they just buried him in the sand in Morocco?! That made me sick. They can’t even visit his grave. It’s so disrespectful.

Not to mention, Jiara just got together at the end of last season, then the first season we see them as an actual couple, he fucking dies and they’re over, and to make it worse, we barely got any Jiara scenes in Part 2. It literally feels like we never even got to see them as an actual couple. One bad angled kiss scene in 10 episodes is preposterous. If Rudy actually asked for less Jiara intimate scenes, the Pates should’ve shut that shit down immediately and made him do his job. I don’t know why he’d suddenly have an issue though since he didn’t seem to have one in season 3, or Part 1. And Madison’s acting in part 2 during most Jiara scenes, except the last episode, were really emotionless. Even if she was mad at Rudy, she shouldn’t have let that affect her performance. How can both of them be so unprofessional?

The Pates basically said all the couples were endgame. Now you’re telling me, that after everything, everyone gets a happy ending but Kiara and JJ? How would anyone want that for a fan favorite couple? Genuinely why did they even bother making Jiara a thing if this is how they were going to end. What was the point?

Next, a big fuck you to Rudy and Madison for going through that whole press tour giving us hope like that about Jiara. Talking about them being endgame, JJ having great character development, and Rudy acting excited about another season. Literally none of what they said was true. I genuinely don’t know how anyone allowed this to happen. If Rudy wanted to leave so bad, why did he always say he loved playing JJ? He couldn’t suck it up for one more season, seriously? I don’t know what happened between part 1 and 2, but they felt like two completely different seasons. How was he ok with that being JJ’s ending? And the Pates have to be the dumbest people on earth to throw away almost their entire fan base like that. This isn’t some high brow drama where killing main characters is expected. This is a fun teen summer show about treasure hunting. The only way they can make this right is to use the crown to bring JJ back. I would have to think by now, they’re realizing what a horrible mistake they’ve made and that they’re going to be in a lot of trouble for season 5. I’m praying that they can convince Rudy to come back for at least one episode to give him and Jiara a happy ending. I don’t care what they have to do. This was one of the best teen dramas out there and it brought me so much joy. Now I can’t even stomach rewatching it. I’ve never seen a show destroy itself so completely so quickly. Regardless, JJ will always be one of my favorite characters and Jiara one of my favorite ships. They deserved so much better.

[sky-kenobye]

⛵️ Five Fandoms, Five Ships ⛵

Get to know the blogger, via five different ships from five different fandoms!

Thanks for the tag @underacalicosky !!

Putting it under the cut because this is LONG, sorry.

I love them your honor. Doesn't even have to be romantic, I just want to see them being obsessed about each other. I'm also a pretty big obianidala fan, hence why I added her too. (I'm a multishipper really. I have my otp but there's a lot of ships that I enjoy)

1. Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker(/Padmé Amidala) (Star Wars)

When I first watched star wars (not that long ago, I only watched it because I wanted to see the sequels in theater lmao) I wasn't a big fan of the prequels so I mostly ignored them, but then a couple years ago I randomly rewatched them in the middle of the night and suddenly I was obsessed. I'm not even sure how I ended up on AO3 (did I go look for obikin? Did I stumble on it? Idk) but eventually I started reading Pining in Preschool, then realised that @palfriendpatine66 was on tumblr, I started interacting with more people around here, and now I'm (slowly) writing fics, and I'm having the time of my life here, so thanks Pal!

I don't think any if my past fandom brainrots reached my current level so I'm pretty sure I'm here for the long haul (at least it's not stopping anytime soon).

It's not super obvious here but I'm actually a huge Marvel fan (well, the MCU, I've never read a comic), and especially Captain America. Stucky is just, 🤌 so tasty (a lot of similarities with obikin actually imo). I'd like to talk to whoever thought "I'm with you 'til the end of the line" was a straight sentence to repeatedly say to your bro throughout an entire century though. Like?? I'm all for relationships that defy the boundaries of platonic and romantic, but still, that's kinda gay.

2. Steve Rogers/James "Bucky" Barnes(/Peggy Carter) (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

The first MCU movie I saw was actually captain america 2 (and not the first one lol) in theater, and I was instantly hooked, though since Endgame I've been less into it, since my fav is gone (and I have to agree with tumblr on that one: they're making too many movies and shows, I can't keep up 😩)

(And I'm still super salty about what they did to steve in canon, they should have killed him off instead of whatever the fuck that was, honestly)

I also added Peggy because she's great, and polyamory is so much better than love triangles or shipping wars. (I'm not polyamorous but I believe in their beliefs. I think it's because of the aromanticism)

Same as with obikin (and stucky too tbh) I don't really care how they love each other, I just care that they do. They're the most important person to each other, be it romantic, platonic, familial, idc.

3. John Watson/Sherlock Holmes (mostly BBC Sherlock, but from the RDJ movies and the books too)

I've obsessed over (non-existent) clues during the last season, and deluded myself into thinking they'd become canon, alas, it didn't happen.

I've translated a couple of fics in french for that ship, but I've never written for it (I thought about it tho), and I've read a lot. That's the fandom where I've read some of the best queerplatonic fics, and that's my favorite interpretation of the ship, especially sherlock being some flavor of aroace.

4. Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)

I love them as a queerplatonic relationship, and I genuinely think that's what they are in canon, the haters can suck it, that's not queerbaiting even if they dont become a canon couple.

Okay, I'm starting to see a patern here. Am I really that predictable? You can just copy-past what I said above.

(I'm fully on board with them being a couple though)

Hey, a straight ship! With a woman not added as a second thought!

5. Elizabeth Bennet/Mr Darcy (Pride and Prejudice)

Not quite the same vibe as the others, but I've read sooo many fics and books (straight up published fics lol), I've watched a bunch of different adaptations (even the one with zombies)... The worst part is that I think I've only read the og book once, oops.

I actually inherited that fandom from the women in my family lmao. My mom, sister and sister-in-law are all obsessed with it, so I read it to see what all the fuss was about and, yeah, I get it.

And that's it! There are other fandoms I'm into, and other ships in those fandoms, but that's pretty much it (the main one that's missing is Dinluke, the others are mostly smaller ones).

I'm not super actively in those fandoms (apart from Star Wars obviously) but i come back to them now and then. Usually I re-watch it then binge-read a bunch of fics (while my main fandom stays in the main spot in my brain) then I let it go again until it comes back (while obikin still stays in the main spot).

Also Harry Potter used to be my main obsession but JKR kinda ruined that for me so I'm not really into it anymore (hence why I didn't list it even though I have written fics for it).

Anyway that was way too long, if you've read all of this then props to you!

I'm tagging: @cottonraincoat @fem-anakin-skywalker @kingdomvel @ineffable-snowman @arobiwan (and whoever else wants to do it because I'm nosy and I want to know stuff about people)

[dhampiravidi]

when you dislike the MC of a good series AKA Who Will Die in The Wicked Powers

damn, being petty enough to flip off the MC x canon ship in my (favorite) fandom is really kicking me in the ass--

yeah, basically I can't touch half the TSC stuff on Tumblr bc I'm so anti-Clace...(meanwhile I love literally every other character that's been in every Shadowhunter series)...& they're probably gonna have a wedding + kids in the next books (assuming Jace isn't killed)...

The Wicked Powers is most definitely gonna have the Princes of Hell as the main villains. I feel like Luke, Gwyn, or Izzy will die, since the younger Shadowhunters are supposed to be central & well...look at the couples who will be alive/extant by TWP:

SPOILERS FOR ALL SHADOWHUNTER BOOKS!!

Jace & Clary

Magnus & Alec

Simon & Izzy

Julian & Emma

Kit & Ty

Kieran/Cristina/Mark

Dru & Ash (& maybe Jaime)

Diana & Gwyn

Luke & Jocelyn

Tessa & Jem

(forgive me if I'm missing anyone!)

Jace already died once. Clary had dreams about dying, but those were shown to be visions of Thule. Based on canon events, I think they're Clare's favorite ship. SAFE.

Magnus almost gave himself to Asmodeus in CoHF. Alec almost-ish died saving Magnus in The Eldest Curses. Also, Alec almost died thanks to that poison demon in TMI (the one Magnus saved him from). Malec might end up forced to rule some region of Hell (reason unknown but I think it'll have to do with them beating/destroying Asmodeus). I feel like past events foreshadow Magnus dealing with the unfortunate sides of being a warlock. But he won't die--the "killing your gays" trope might actually save he & Alec.

Simon nearly died when the vampires attacked him (when he was a mundane), then when Valentine bled him pre-Daylighter (then Jace's blood saved him). He "sacrificed" himself to Asmodeus CoHF, in the form of his vampire immortality + memories (which he basically got back later on). Izzy...she's been through a lot psychologically & about as much as I think most Shadowhunters would physically. She lost Max & her dad. But she's a badass (I'm not faulting her for it, either). So I don't think she's safe.

Julian & Emma both lost their parents in horrible ways. Their whole series was about the parabatai curse (which, to me, was conveniently not mentioned in chronologically earlier series...probably because it wasn't invented til TDA was written, lol). They're kinda written to be the leaders of Livvy's Watch. SAFE.

Kit has his whole faerie power reveal shit to explore & he + Ty are some of the major characters in TWP. I'm pretty sure they'll spend the series healing their relationship. SAFE.

Kieran/Cristina/Mark will survive because 1) Kieran as the Unseelie King is an important Shadowhunter ally, 2) they're poly rep in YA, which is rare, and 3) killing one of them off would leave the others to mourn in such a weird way. SAFE.

I love Dru Blackthorn. She's one of the main of TWP, so I think she'll survive, plus tbh I don't think any more Blackthorns will be killed. Ash will probably end up as the Seelie King or as Clace's adopted son, to "redeem" Sebastian in a narrative sense. Jaime's sort of a main for TWP as one of Dru's love interests. SAFE.

Diana & Gwyn aren't main characters (though I like their romance). Diana also is the ONLY transgender person in all the books (unless I missed something). I don't think she'll be killed off. Gwyn might be just because I see the Wild Hunt as an important group in TWP & he might die protecting Diana (narratively, this shows strengthened faerie-Shadowhunter relations, despite the Wild Hunt being unaffiliated with either Court).

Luke & Jocelyn deserve to be endgame, but I could see Luke being killed off as one of those "MC's loved one is killed so the MC goes & avenges them" type of things. I love Luke & Jocelyn as characters, though.

Tessa & Jem deserve to be endgame, arguably, more than any couple. They were the mains in their series, then Jem survived but was sort-of-"lost" when he became a Silent Brother. Then he miraculously became a (mortal) Shadowhunter again when he was burned by heavenly fire, he just left the Clave behind to hang with Tessa (good choice!). Tessa has a baby & she's gonna suffer enough when she outlives Jem. SAFE?

[incorrectsibunaquotes]

So if it's not KT who's Kira's endgame(I'm still crying about it tho), then who is it? You mentioned like 4 answers, but remember only Matt and Greg(I'm still shocked) Please, we want to know

LOL so there’s not a canon endgame (not that anything about TIC is “canon,” but you guys know what I mean hehehe), but there are a few fun possibilities that people can chew on! There may be an “official” endgame at some point if I ever write a post-canon future fic set in this AU, but that’s a big IF!

Option 1 - Matthew / someone else from home: This would probably happen the summer after her junior year of college (after she and KT split up), and they’d have a summer fling that just lasted past the summer. Idk I haven’t fully fleshed out any of these

Option 2 - the one, the only Greg Harrison: I have no idea how this would happen, but it would be funny. Maybe they met at a conference for work, but Greg doesn’t strike me as an academic so idk.

Option 3 - Amber: This is my least favorite option, but also would be super iconic. If they ran into each other/met up at a bar in NYC and just really hit it off. #AndTheyWereRoommates

Option 4 - Fabian: So this is only an option if Fabina for whatever reason doesn’t work out (like if she isolated herself out of fear of hurting other ppl with chosen one bullshit, got killed by chosen one bullshit, they just had another wacky breakup… you know how it goes). Kira and Fabian both become professors at the same university when they’re older, teaching different things obviously. They would be colleagues in academia, and I think they would actually pair up surprisingly well. Students at the university would eat it up for sure. But in this universe I kinda think Fabina stays endgame, but yeah I flip-flop on them way too much lol

Option 5 - … KT: OKAY! I’ve given it thought, and it’s very possible that they could have broken up in college, stayed good friends, and then gotten back together later down the line. Maybe they hooked up again at a wedding or something (why is that always my go-to for getting couples back together post-canon omg??)

Anyway… yeah that’s it! But feel free to pick your own endgames!

[staringdownabarrel]

I've seen a couple of posts where people are getting caught up on the time travel aspects of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow because they aren't really sure how it's meant to work. This is an aspect of Picard's second season that people got caught up on as well, so I want to go over how time travel works in Star Trek.

I think the part people are getting caught up on is that time travel in Star Trek is largely based on two rules, but neither of them are explicitly stated in canon. They've both largely gone unstated.

Rule 1: Time travel doesn't make a difference unless it causes a difference

What this means is that just the act of going back in time isn't enough to cause huge changes in the timeline. This isn't the kind of franchise where you can go back in time and move a leaf and suddenly cause all of history to drastically change. It's only if you actively go out of your way to change things--e.g., killing one historical figure or saving another--that it makes a difference.

This is the reason why in The Voyage Home, when Kirk and co. go back and save the whales, they're not presented with this drastically changed Federation when they get back to the 23rd century. Bringing two whales and a marine biologist to the future isn't enough to cause drastic changes to the timeline. It's not enough of a difference to make a difference, essentially.

It's also why Sisko was able to take the place of Gabriel Bell in DS9's Past Tense two-parter without it causing issues down the line. While Bell not being there and doing what he did cause a ripple effect, as long as someone was there to fill that role, things would all go according to plan. Sisko playing the part of Gabriel Bell during the Bell riots kept his timeline intact because while it was a difference, it also wasn't enough of a difference to make a difference.

The third example of time travel by itself not causing a difference is something like TNG's Time's Arrow two-parter, where just the TNG crew going back to the nineteenth century isn't enough to cause ripples down the line. It just means they're there.

Rule 2: When it does make a difference, it overwrites everything that happens afterwards

The best example of this rule in practice is Voyager's Year of Hell two-parter. Annorax's temporal weapon ship is built to be able to cause changes in the timeline that ripple out and change everything afterwards. He's also obsessed with restoring the timeline to what he considers its proper course, and that's an ongoing thing during the story.

There's other examples of this rule in practice, too. The other obvious example of this is TOS's The City on the Edge of Forever, where if Edith Keeler survives, the Nazis win World War II and cause the Federation to never exist. In DS9's Past Tense, if the Bell riots don't happen, the Federation never exists. In VOY's Endgame, Admiral Janeway going back in time causes Voyager to be able to get back to the Alpha Quadrant years earlier than it had in her timeline.

This doesn't mean that the timeline splits off and causes a new universe to form. It means that everything that happens after the significant change in the timeline, everything after that change is different.

This is why Guinan didn't remember Picard during the 21st century scenes in Picard's second season. Because the timeline had been changed so that the Federation didn't exist, it'd also been changed so that he probably hadn't been to the nineteenth century in this version of the timeline. There wasn't an evil Federation version of Time's Arrow in this timeline essentially, so there was no reason for Guinan to have met Picard because from her perspective, they hadn't.

This is also one of the reasons why the 2009 movie tends to be such a contentious thing in some circles. Its presentation of time travel causing a change in the timeline so bad that it causes it split off and create a new universe isn't really in line with how time travel has traditionally been presented in the franchise. The flow on effect of this is while the writing team for the Kelvinverse films are pretty adamant that Enterprise as shown is canon to both the Prime universe and the Kelvinverse, there are fans who don't really buy into that idea.

Keep in mind that during First Contact, when the Enterprise-E is chasing the Borg sphere through the temporal vortex, nobody's saying, "Oh, we're in a new universe now." What they do say is that the Borg assimilating the Earth in the past is a major difference and therefore needs to be prevented.

That's in direct contrast to an episode like TNG's Parallels, where when Worf goes to each new universe, they're able to run some tests on him and find he's not meant to be in that universe. Stuff like that wouldn't work if there wasn't a difference between going to a different universe and traveling in time.

So the opening scene of the 2009 movie, where the Narada came in and destroyed the Kelvin, is really better explained by one of two options. One is that this was a different kind of time travel that hasn't been expanded upon since or even replicated in canon that caused the new timeline to split into a new universe, or the Kelvinverse was always a separate universe. Either would be fine, in my opinion.

How this is all relevant to Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow is that this episode is another example of how a change in the past was enough of a difference to make a difference. While there is room for debate on where the line is for what constitutes enough of a difference, this episode clearly framed this set of changes as enough. This is a pretty straight example of how time travel is supposed to work in Star Trek.

[allthedamnlove]

i agree that drew and fiona had way more chemistry than madison and rudy😭😭

jj and kie were just like there…. if that makes sense?? like nothing about them gave couple. meanwhile rafe was on his knees with a ring for sofia🙂‍↕️

also the whole riara thing is like not it lmfao, like madison said kiara would not be kiara if she was with rafe so if they really make a romantic connection happen between them not only would it ruin her character but it would not make sense imo

i’m all for the partners in crime duo and going after revenge but for them to all of a sudden want each other in 1 season would throw the whole show off

rofia endgame or the writers will not know peace for the rest of their lives idk🙂‍↕️

See that's the thing it's like the end of mockingiay where katniss says that she doesn't need the fire from Gale but needs peace that peeta gives. Rafe needs love from a normal woman who's been in love with them for nearly 2 years...not a heartbroken girl looking for revenge

Oh Jiaras are 👌close to killing rudy Elaine and the pates so if they put rafe and kiara you will probably see the pates dead or something. I think what they meant by rafe and kies relationship being explored more is that they will find each other in violence and revenge. I'm so happy that kie gets to explore herself in the final season. I'm so fucking sick of rudys unprofessional ass ruining the entire show. So I want madison to get the attention full front and center. No men around her.

Also rafe might have hastily broke up with sofia but his ass is soo going to regret it. He has INSANE attachment issues and so he would want closure WHICH MEANS ANGST FOR US.

And also if anyone comes for sofia I won't hesitate to deck them cuz I'm sick and tired of everyone victim blaming sofia. Like sHe BeTrAyEd HeR BRO HE KILLED PEOPLE. And again a number one hypocrite cuz HE KNOWS that he has done bad shit yet broke up with her OVER THE PHONE. LIKE BE FUCKING RIGHT

I feel like one of the pates really really like rofia and also the confirmation by the directors further confirmation that their story is not over.

Oh I will take a pitchfork and go rafe s2 on all of their asses if they come for my ship. So they better watch their asses.

Also the body doubles for the beach scene in MOROCCO CTFU. Meanwhile drew carrying fiona across the beach for the enduro scene YOU CANNOT MAKE THIS UP. Yea so clearly we can see a difference in chemistry.

If the obxanon is true (I don't trust them) then the dire nearly dry ass chemistry in ep 6 to ep 9 must be because ep10 was filmed first after it. So naturally mads was pissed at rudy but at the same time....they both should have been professional and atleast showed some chemistry even if jjs dying. Its the fan favourite ship, both the writers and mads and rudy atleast should have taken it to a higher level in the scenes if jj was going to die. But nope, they were acting like they didn't even know each other LMAO. Its just very very sad like jj is an amazing character and I'll say that rafe and jj are kinda cut from the same cloth so I would have loved to see how their relationship evolved. But that's the thing with these fuckass 10eps we see no emotional development between the characters. The main reason why rafe and sofia seems "weird" (by the way they are wrong and don't enjoy life enuff) is that the editors cut so many scenes that it feels disconnected.

But yea again I wish and wish I see rafe crying his ass off at the wedding with sofia wearing an insane wedding gown with Valerie as the flower girl and mads as one of the bridesmaids

[epitomees]

kotone and aigis ships pls

Send ‘Ship Bias’ and I will share up to 5 ships I have a bias for my muse!

((I did answer the top 5 for Kotone here, but I do have more ships with her sooooo...I can continue where I left off~

6. Joker (RED DUO MY BELOVED!! I’ve only seen how they interact via GIFs and photos of Q2 but I feel like their chemistry would be incredible. They’re both gremlins in their own right, they can be mischievous and reckless together, but also they have big hearts for their friends and the people they consider important. And they can be…fairly violent when battling together. Imagine a power couple!! That’s them for sure!!)

7. Rio (MY GIRL DESERVES SOMEONE BETTER THAN STINKY, GROSS KENJI!! GIVE HER A PARTNER THAT WILL TREAT HER RIGHT!! No but Kotone and Rio together is very special to me too. Rio is a great social link and Kotone admires the girl’s drive and ambition so, so much. They’d be a cute athletic couple!!)

8. Fuuka (I love me some blue/red dynamics. They can teach each other so much since they both have a strong drive to learn new things. And Kotone’s patience is absolutely incredible, so she would be perfect when it comes to Fuuka’s anxieties and doubts. Plus, Kotone thinks Fuuka is the absolute cutest!! 10/10 would squish her cheeks and give her playful noogies.)

9. Bebe (THAT’S HER SPECIAL BOY!! FASHION COUPLE RIGHT HERE!! She finds him so precious and adores how much he wants to learn about her culture. I think they’d go and try all kinds of food, go to different restaurants, and immerse themselves in all kinds of things so he can experience everything the island has to offer.)

10. Junpei (While I see them more as a platonic relationship, I do think they can make for a good romantic couple. Junpei grows a lot through the story and I think by endgame, he’s come to really appreciate Kotone and admire her strength. There’s some potential there for sure!!)

1. Makoto/Minato (…I don’t think I should start on this ship because I could write a whole college essay about their relationship, the fate they share, the Sun/Moon dynamics, the ‘doomed from the start’ trope, THE FACT THEY ARE THE ORPHEUS/EURYDICE METAPHOR, LITERALLY I COULD MAKE A TED TALK ABOUT THESE TWO AND IT’D LAST FOR 8 HOURS!! THESE TWO MEAN SO MUCH TO ME AND I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE HOW THEY SHOT UP TO BE MY FAVORITE SHIP OF ALL TIME!)

2. Kotone/Minako (Literally the same as the above. They ruin me, they make me weak in the knees, they kill me internally, and I don’t think I’ll ever recover.)

3. Yukari (These two are very special since both of them had a very close relationship to the protagonist. I think there’s a lot of commonalities they have, and I think Yukari can sympathize with Aigis concerning her learning how to be human and how to embrace human emotion. Not to mention, they don’t really have a good family to go back to since Aigis’ creator is dead and Yukari’s most prominent parental figure is dead too. I haven’t watched the Answer yet but I know they butt heads a bit because of the protagonist’s death, but if they can sit and talk to each other, they can get past it. I also think it’d be cool if they’d live together once they graduate. Roommates to lovers, you know?)

4. Ryoji (…okay HEAR ME OUT HERE!!! HEAR ME OUT!! I love me a good enemy/rivals relationship, but consider this. I thoroughly enjoy how Aigis is very hostile towards Ryoji because of his true nature, but also imagine she’s straight up jealous of him because he was able to obtain a human body. On top of that, he immediately bonded with the protagonist, someone she must protect and probably has fallen in love with slowly over time. It’s not fair how he swooped in and is trying to take the protagonist away from her. BUT!! I think Ryoji would tell Aigis she is more human than him, and he finds it so interesting and beautiful how a machine is able to feel human emotions. I truly think Ryoji would fall for Aigis too, because she’s such a unique case. If an android with a specially made heart is capable of living, loving, and caring for humans, maybe he can too. Also, two immortal beings in love with each other and watching over humanity for years and years to come. MmmmmmMMMMMMMM THAT’S GOOD FOOD!)

5. Fuuka (A robot and the geeky nerd who loves tinkering with technology! I think they can easily go hand in hand with each other! Fuuka learning about Aigis’ inner workings and Aigis learning about today’s tech advances from Fuuka. They also have this…special kind of bodyguard/person being protected that gets me going since Fuuka is the navigator. Aigis wouldn’t waste a moment being a shield to keep her safe from Shadows.)

[ohblackdiamond]

black and gold (kiss/endgame crossover, part 18 of ?)

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7 | part 8 | part 9 | part 10 | part 11 | part 12 | part 13 | part 14 | part 15 | part 16 | part 17 | part 18

Prequel to “the end of the world tour.” Four ex-bandmates and even-more-ex-superheroes reunite in the aftermath of Thanos’ snap, and attempt to adjust.

In this chapter: “I’m Gene. This is Paul. You feel like taking a couple Jews out of the wilderness, Moses?” Paul and Gene bum a ride on their journey to Peter's house, and Paul faces an uncomfortable conversation with Ace and a worrisome dream.

Paul sang himself completely hoarse. Kept on like it was a setlist. “Get Off of My Cloud.” “Come a Little Bit Closer.” “Bus Stop.” “Daydream.” “Maggie May.” “Friday on My Mind.” Gene was surprised he didn’t try for any Beatles songs, but maybe those were just too stark a reminder.

“‘I’m gonna have fun in the city, I’ll be with my girl, she’s so pretty…’”

“Paul, you’re gonna kill your voice.”

“I did that a long time ago.” He was already barely able to speak, that reedy, cracked quality to his voice even worse than normal. Gene thought back, unwillingly, to all those times thirty-odd years ago, hearing Paul belt out annoying warm-ups in the dressing room. How much he’d wished Paul would just shut the fuck up back then. The reality of having had to witness his decline was so much worse. “It’s okay.”

But he did stop after that. The rest of the walk to the gas station, Gene tried to fill with conversation and comments that Paul mostly only nodded or shook his head at. He could only get out a few short, raspy responses every so often. Gene felt more grounded now. More able. Paul had propped him up. Made him stable again.

He expected to spend hours waiting at the gas station, leaning heavily against an old payphone, watching the cars fill up and drive away. There was no real food inside the station itself, unsurprisingly, and so he finished off one of the lunches as he stood there. His legs and right arm were already painfully sore. He’d barely be able to move tomorrow morning; he knew it. Paul hadn’t really complained, but Gene had caught him rubbing his arm and shoulder off and on the times they’d stopped to rest. Paul was sitting down in front of the payphone, legs crossed, one arm around his luggage. He was smiling at every single car that pulled up, every person that got out to get gas, like he thought it was ’78. He was still barely able to talk, so Gene was doing that for him, a dozen of the same lines, like a preacher’s tract. Excuse-me. We-need-a-ride. Just-to-the-nearest-car-dealership. We’ll-pay-you. Nothing but stares and headshakes. It was getting closer to dark before they ever got a nod.

“Sure.” It was a kid. Maybe Nick’s age at best, but no older. His hair was in a bushy Afro. Gene’s gaze dove down to his worn-out sneakers, then over to his car, a puke-green Celica with the paint wearing off the hood. “How much?”

“Two hundred.” Then, quickly-- “I’ll… I’ll have a check sent after, too.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“It’s gotta be an open dealership,” Gene added. “Don’t screw us over here.”

“I’m not screwing you over.” The kid stuck out his hand. Gene took it. “I’m Moses.”

“I’m Gene. This is Paul. You feel like taking a couple Jews out of the wilderness, Moses?”

“You got some definition of wilderness, man. Get in.”

Gene was more nervous than he wanted to let on as they climbed inside. If Moses did strand them somewhere, even in the car lot, they’d probably still be able to regroup from there. It would just take awhile. The big problems were going to be if they-- 

“You got a place for a charger?” Paul had read his mind. Paul’s voice sounded like two pieces of sandpaper getting rubbed together. He could tell that the kid hadn’t even understood what Paul had said. 

“Charger?” Gene repeated for him, and Moses waved vaguely at the Frankensteined plug set-ups below the radio. There was an iphone charger already there--  Paul reached over from his seat in the back to plug Gene’s phone in. One thing down.

“Where are you headed, anyway?”

“Connecticut.”

Moses whistled. He turned on the radio, turned on his own phone, googling around for dealerships, before pulling out of the gas station. 

It was a mostly-silent trip. The radio reports were the only interruption. The military had been deployed to help with relief efforts and what the report kindly termed as deescalations. Most, if not all, major cities were being razed and looted. They were going to put price ceilings on gas. Gene remembered what Paul had said about seventies inflation, way back in Maury and Charlotte’s RV, and swallowed thickly.

“I thought Hurricane Katrina was bad,” Moses finally said, changing the station. “I didn’t know what bad was, huh?”

“You must’ve been a kid then.”

Moses shrugged and didn’t elaborate. It was two hours before he managed to pull into an open dealership. The place looked crummy, nothing like the dealership Paul and Gene had stepped into just a few days ago, to take the lunches from-- but the lights were on inside, and there were a handful of vehicles in the lot.

“We’ve got it from here,” Gene assured, digging in his wallet. Paul unplugged the phone. “Thanks. Gimme your address for the rest.”

“I don’t need the rest.” Moses said, pocketing the two hundred.

“You sure? Kid, I saw apples go for ten bucks apiece. I wouldn’t turn down--”

“I don’t wanna do that to you.”

“But--”

“I know who you are, man. I can’t charge you extra. It’d be like charging Superman for a taxi.” Moses’ expression was distant. “Nah, you go ahead.”

“Thank you.”

“Be real careful, okay? You’re only halfway there.”

-- 

Hey, Ace

Ace: Gene?

No this is Paul. Sorry

Ace: What did you do about the car?

We left it. We bought another one

Ace: How much?

Eighty grand.

Ace: What is it?

A pickup truck

Ace: Are you fucking kidding

No

Ace: What year is it

1988

Manual transmission too

Ace: Jesus Christ you got fucked over which one of you paid for it

Gene did

Ace: Didn’t you try to haggle?

It was the only one left in the lot

Ace:  Jesus Christ. Can Gene drive a manual

What do you think

Ace: You screwed yourselves over, you got shitty gas mileage now

Ace, shut up.

Ace: Eighty grand is a down payment on a Bentley

Ace, shut the fuck up

Ace: Paul seriously let me talk to you. I’m calling now

Against his better judgment, Paul answered the phone. His voice was cracking on every third word, and his throat felt like it was on fire. None of that was new to him-- none of that had been new to him in years after overextending himself-- but it just felt worse now, that was all. He didn’t regret singing for Gene at all; he just hated what he was contending with in the aftermath. And he hated, too, the worry that he’d just wrecked himself even further past repair than before. 

“Ace, I really don’t wanna hear it–”

“You sound like shit,” Ace said shortly. “What happened?”

Paul cleared his throat. It didn’t help at all.

“I might’ve performed.”

“For who?” Ace paused, not waiting on Paul to respond before changing tacks. “Look, that truck’s just gonna slow you down. If Gene can’t drive a manual–”

“Gene can barely drive an automatic.”

“--then the whole damn trip is up to you.”

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“You’re gonna have a real bad time. I… look, man, I’d try and meet you part of the way over, but I don’t think I can.”

Paul couldn’t really blame him at all. He asked anyway.

“Why not?”

“People are raiding houses. Anyplace you leave behind, even for a little while, you come back and it’s completely ransacked if you’re lucky. Squatters if you’re not.” Ace exhaled. “I don’t want to leave Peter here alone. He’s doing really bad, Paul.”

“Nobody’s doing really good right now.”

“Don’t strain yourself. You sound fucking awful. Gene around?”

“He’s asleep.”

“How’re you for food?”

Telling him not to strain himself, then asking him questions. Paul let out a long breath.

“I think we can make it.”

“You’re pretty damn skinny as it is,” Ace pointed out dryly. “Gene can’t lend you twenty pounds, y’know.”

“We’ll make it.”

“Yeah. I know you will. Still nothing on reaching out to the fans, huh?”

“I wanted to, Gene didn’t. We-- did it on accident anyway.”

“Okay. Hey, Paul?”

“Yeah?”

“You are feeling it, aren’t you? You gotta be. I am. Peter is, I know Peter is--” 

That again. Just when he’d hoped that Ace had let up, that their argument the other day had proved something to him. Apparently not. Apparently Ace was as determined as everyone else to try and resurrect the past.

“Ace, I gotta go. I’ll text you tomorrow.” Paul hung up, plugging up the phone as if it mattered when the truck engine wasn’t running. He’d been well enough aware of the hustling they’d contended with when buying the truck before Ace had bitched him out about it, but it did have one of those cigarette lighter adapters like the one Moses had. And it was red. And it had custom leather seats. And, most importantly, it had been their only option. It had turned out that it was the only automobile in the lot left that hadn’t been vandalized beyond driveability or stolen.

It had been a long time since eighty grand had been a whole lot of money to him, compared to his net worth, but after he hit about thirty or so, unnecessary expenses started to agitate him. Okay, no, twenty-eight was when it first started to bother him, when he’d originally been stuck paying Peter a twenty-five percent cut from a band he was no longer in. It had taken nearly ten years to buy that bastard out of the only smart decision he’d ever made. Thinking about it still burned him up. Peter staying rich off of the sweat of his and Gene’s brows. Only a couple years after he’d been bought out of KISS’ dwindling profits, Peter’d been high and dry.

(paul doesn’t want to talk to me)

Peter was right. Paul never did want to talk to Peter. He didn’t know what he’d say to him once they finally got over there. Paul had not had a resentment-free conversation with Peter since the seventies. Peter was borderline illiterate, a high-school dropout, a guy who’d been living off his wife and fooling around in lousy garage bands before KISS. Peter had always ruined everything. If not for him-- 

If not for him-- 

No. No, he couldn’t think like that right now. Ace couldn’t get him started on that path. He was only thinking this way anyway because of Ace, and because thinking of Peter was easier than thinking of himself and the raspy whisper currently constituting his voice. Already-charted territory, decades of it. And even that was easier, far easier, than thinking of his wife, his children, his sister.

All of whom he could only think about because of Gene. He’d never stop owing Gene. For saving him. For continuing to save him, even though he wasn’t worth it. Even though he was a petty bastard at best. He had only been any good to Gene just lately. Only been able to sing Gene a couple songs. It was the smallest of repayments for his life.

He reclined his seat as much as he could, and closed his eyes, the sound of Gene’s breathing eventually lulling him to sleep.

--

Paul dreamed most nights. He tended to take sleep aids, a profoundly bad habit that had started way back when KISS had shifted from tour buses to flights. Generally, he went with melatonin when he was trying to wean himself off prescription stuff-- but even now, without them, he’d dream. The old standards. Tests for classes he’d never taken. His teeth falling out of his head, or crunching to pieces as he spoke.

That night, he dreamed of her. 

She always looked the same. Long, stick-straight blonde hair, bony wrists, large blue eyes. He had met her in 1972, on the T.V. in his parents’ apartment. A Vitalis commercial. In five years, he’d have her; in six years, she’d be gone. The first real loss of his life. She hadn’t even had a funeral; the rabbi had refused to complete the rites for a suicide.

She always looked the same; he was always his own age, even in dreams. He used to hate that, the way she was always frozen in time while he shifted so profoundly past her. But now it was almost a comfort. The world could be destroyed and she would stay the way he remembered her.

Maybe it was shameful, dreaming of her now. Maybe he’d just kept her in his head because she had died so young, tugging her out of his own subconscious like some sort of symbol to soothe him at all the worst points of his life. Like Paul McCartney’s Mother Mary. That had been Hilsen’s suggestion over the years. But Paul didn’t quite believe that. He had never quite believed that at all.

Now she was sitting next to him in jeans and a sweater, in the bed of their new truck, and he reached for her with weathered, sinewy arms and trembling hands. I’m ninety-three and you’re sixteen, he thought, so briefly. The fucked-up line he’d added to Gene’s longing little ballad. I’m sixty-two and you’re twenty-nine. 

She didn’t reach for him, though his arms wrapped around her, though his head pressed against her shoulder. She never did. 

“There’s a ring for you, if you want it, Paul.”

“A ring?” He sounded better than he had in years. Sounded better, but didn’t look better. He let go of her. He looked at his fingers-- then he looked at hers, both bare. “I don’t understand.”

“A ring. A call. There’s a call if you want it.”

She’d never said that before. Paul wracked his brain, suddenly desperate.

“Do you want me to come back? I can’t. I can’t come with you. Not yet. I will but not yet. Y-you know that, right?”

“There’s a call if you want it.”

“What call?” 

“You have to want it. It’ll be there for you if you want it.”

“What call? What’s there for me? Victoria, tell me, please–”

He woke in a cold sweat, breathing hard. Checked for messages on Gene’s phone. Nothing. Nothing at all.

[caatws]

I'm pretty sure your blog has saved my sanity. I was running around in circles with Gamora feels until I saw a post of yours and then wandered here and saw a plethora of amazing posts. Gamora has been my comfort character for years and when they decided to have the guardians join the mcu I was skeptical. Then vol 1 turned out to be incredible and vol 2 was even better. But when IW killed Gamora it was like my heart dropped. I'm still hurt by how they let her die like that. Everyone kept telling me Gunn would make up for it and do better after Endgame but when I left the theater a couple weeks ago I didn't feel better. I felt worse off than I was after Endgame. Reading posts here has been the only thing that helps. Particularly your post about Gamora and grief. Why is the need to process grief over Gamora's death such a taboo. During vol 1 Peter has all this unprocessed grief about his mom because he was kidnapped from right outside her hospital and then placed in an environment where he wasn't supported enough to find closure. Once he meets up with the guardians and they become this unit where he feels more comfortable and supported he's finally able to open the gift she left him and read her letter. He's able to cope better because of the guardians and you see that in vol 2 where he doesn't have to wait years to have closure about Yondu because he has support and love and can say goodbye. I don't understand why this kind of thought was absent for Gamora. He needed people to help him carry the load of losing her rather than telling him she's not gone. He needed people to care about dealing with 2014 Gamora instead of being very much alone in the whole process of figuring things out. Maybe Gamora wasn't the exact same person the guardians lost but she was still a person. She deserved support too. She deserved a bigger role so that her story wasn't left wide open.

What's most upsetting is that I don't even love vol 3 but would still have spent money on Gamora merchandise. Only I can't do that because there's hardly anything to buy. How are there multiple versions of some things for most of the characters but Gamora is missing from almost everything? What was the point of bringing Gamora back only to exclude her this way. I know I have a love for Gamora and with that comes bias but I don't think I'm insane for saying there was no reason for Gamora's time in the mcu to end this badly.

omg i'm glad you could find some relief in this space anon <3 we are all members of the Gamora Defense Squad(TM) over here so we aren't afraid to call bullshit on marvel for where they've failed her over the last couple years! even if our feelings are driven by our biases toward gamora, there are still things objectively wrong with how marvel has handled her creatively and how disney has handled her as their ip (such as the merch issue). like these things have all built upon each other over the years and it's just sad