#MO focuses more on the rageful revenge

[cyanide-sippy-cup]

One thing I think many gloss over when it comes to Godzilla is the motivation and personality of each iteration, and how their design reflects that.

Shin is a being of pure agony, a living cancer that kills and destroys as much as it can out of pure rage and hatred at its own existence and those who made it be so. Over the film, it goes from what looks like a dead shark to a monster with razors for teeth and eyes of pure suffering and hate.

Minus One is basically hate personified, a monster that somehow manages to hold a deep personal rage against each and every individual member of humanity. It's hatred runs so deep that it commits actions just to terrify and kill. And it's design forces a terrifying glare, one so viscous you'd believe it really hates you personally.

Monsterverse is more of a disgruntled hero. He kinda gives the vibe of a dude who stands in the corner at a party acting like he doesn't want to be there. He has specific motivations in taking down particular kaiju, motivations that are often confused for attacks. He does what he needs to do and retreats back to the ocean when he's done. And he looks consistently miffed. A face that does lean into a menacing rage when necessary.

Classic goji is, like most iterations, an already existing being from the sea, enraged at the destruction of its home and mutation of itself. It has come to simply destroy, destroy all that has allowed this to occur. It causes hurt and suffering, agony and destruction all in its shared pain and rage. Its design is literally shaped like a mushroom cloud since, yknow, nuke mutation.

[casterousaudrey]

To have loved and lost

Word Count: 2k

Pairing: Astarion/Gender Neutral!Reader

Theme: very angsty, death of a lover, revenge.

Note: The people have spoken and I shall answer. I tried to make this as lore-accurate as I could while maintaining my main idea! Sorry if there are errors. I was initially going to write this as a hurt/comfort but angst was just calling my name 😪. I HIGHLY recommend listening to these songs while reading hehe.

Now playing: ※ Cover me in Roses - Holden Laurence ※ I want you - Mitski ※ No surprises - Radiohead ※ What was I made for - Billie Eilish ※ Video games - Lana Del Rey

It wasn't supposed to happen how it did. Beating Cazador was supposed to be easy, Astarion had you and your other companions to fight alongside him. The difficult part was supposed to be deciding whether he would take this power for himself or let it go along with the thousands of vampire spawns with it.

So why was he frozen in place with your lifeless body an arm away, as your other companions tried to keep Cazador and his other lackeys at bay. You were always the protective type, you cared- probably more than you should for other people. He never understood how you could be so kind to people you just met, he who tried to kill you when you first met, he who takes all your offers to drink your blood, and he whose only goal was to kill Cazador, that was before he got closer to you.

He wasn't used to affection that didn't have a price, after all the times he fed on you he didn't hear a single condition on what you should get in return, all he heard was "I'm just happy to be helping you" Or "I can see in your eyes that the hunt wasn't good today, just swing by my tent if you need me ok?". He was- confused, and albeit sickened, after what he experienced being that kind only made him weak and even made him into a slave for Cazador. At the same time he couldn't help what he was feeling, how could he deny how he felt calm when he was in your embrace after particularly hard days, your skin on his with pleasure he never felt before, your kisses felt like the touch of the sun bringing back warmth into his pale and cold body, and your eyes that held no disgust for him.

But in the end, he was right, your kindness made you take a blow from Cazador for him and you paid the price. The last thing he remembered was you running to the blast that was aimed at him, gaining multiple attacks from the numerous minions Cazador had. Astarion couldn't move, he was stuck in place by Cazador and he already accepted the blast that was coming his way but if he knew that you were going to stand between him and Cazador maybe he would've fought harder, maybe your body wouldn't have been facing him with your eyes only focused on his. The moment you got hit- he swore he saw a tear leave your eye. He still doesn't know if it was out of worry for him or fear for what would happen to you.

The blast made your body fly to him as the impact knocked both you and Astarion to a nearby pillar. He was numb, even more than he was in all the years he served Cazador. After regaining his composure Astarion tried to take a glimpse at your body, but it only made him hold his breath and look away.

"Astarion are they ok? Say something!" He could hear Shadowheart screaming for him but there was still a distinct ringing in his head, he couldn't understand what was happening, he couldn't process what just happened. Shadowheart killed the remaining lackeys Cazador had while Karlach was able to kill most of them, Maybe they also saw what happened, and maybe they were also in rage. Who could blame them, You were the best of the group, and everyone's morale solely depended on you keeping it up.

He finally gained the courage to approach your body- crawling to where you were as he turned your body upright. He finally processed what had happened, you are dead, you sacrificed your life for a vampire spawn and he never felt sadness the way he did right now. Your eyes were closed, your chest not moving to breathe, this couldn't be the end. He loved you too much to let you go now, and he regretted not saying those three words earlier. "I love you" He whispered although now it didn't feel like what he imagined it would be, it felt meaningless.

In his grief he tried to find a solution, he racked his brain for any kind of answer, and in desperation, he found one. He'll turn you into a vampire, just like what happened to him when he died. Although he hoped this would happen in different circumstances he can't doubt himself now. "Hold on darling, okay? I got you. I'm here." He cradled your body in his arms as he wasted no time to bite your neck. In all his years as a spawn he has never experienced truly turning someone else, and why would he, the pain he remembered when he turned was not the pain he wanted on anyone else.

A bite and a drop of his blood was all that it should've taken. He bit his arm and had taken more than a drop of his blood in his mouth. He held your face as his blood made its way down your throat. For a moment he was glad, he knew it would work, this was how he turned! How could it not? But with the bite mark on your neck and the smell of his blood still lingering on your lips, you still weren't moving or responding at all. "What's the matter, love? Why isn't it working? I need you to live please!"

He cried and cried but through his tears, he wondered if maybe just biting you and giving you more blood would work. Frantic he started to remove the armor you had to gain access to more parts of your body.

Bite.

Your wrist, the same ones he remembers so tenderly to have kissed when you made love.

Bite.

Your leg, it would always tangle with his on nights that you found peace in each other's arms.

Bite.

Your thigh, what he would give to hold it tight once again as you sat on top of him.

Bite.

Your neck again, where he would bury his face, and suddenly all his problems would disappear.

He took in even more of his blood that once again made its way deep down your throat.

...

..

.

But nothing, it wouldn't work. He tried to reason with himself that maybe just maybe it would take a while for you to turn but he knew deep down that wasn't how it worked.

"You see boy, you are weak, you are nothing but a vampire spawn with no ability to protect anyone. Did I not teach you better than this?" Cazador who was already on his knees still managed to talk Astarion down.

Shock turned to grief and grief into rage.

"In all my problems and all the times I failed it was always you who was behind it..." Astarion made sure to put your body down gently whispering an 'I'll be back sweetheart' before standing up and striding towards Cazador and grabbing him by the back of his head "You just weren't satisfied with the years of pure shit you put me through were you?" Out of all the cruel things Cazador has done Astarion would argue that this is by far the most gut-wrenching thing he had ever experienced.

"Astarion, maybe if we bring them back to a church fast enough the clerics could-"

"The clerics can't do anything about this now!"

Karlach was quick to stop talking, normally she would not be easily swayed but she knew that he was right, You were as good as dead and in Astarions mind his world had also ended.

"You are a fool to believe that you could ever have a happy ending, Astarion. From the moment I turned you to the moment you lured your first victim you should've known that no Gods would ever take pity on your soul." The hand that was holding the back of Cazador's neck tightened. "You're right, No God would help me, but maybe your little contract can"

Astarion threw Cazador on the ground as the decision was set in his mind. "What do you think you're doing?" Finally, a hint of fear in Cazador's voice was what Astarion needed to continue what he was about to do. He needed to ascend to find another solution that his abilities as a spawn couldn't possibly find. "Karlach, I need your help- your eyes rather, to see the scars on my back. Use the parasite to connect to my mind so I can see the scars on my back and copy it onto his."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Oh, but I would, years of trying to push me towards the edge and today... You finally did it and I applaud you" Astarion picks up the blade beside him ready to carve the contract onto his back.

"You know I can't let you do that" Karlach tries to reason as she sees how truly hurt Astarion is.

"That wasn't a question! All the power that he's lusted after will be mine"

"At the cost of a lot of lives. It's not worth it, Astarion" Shadowheart knows nothing could sway him now, not after what Cazador did.

"My darlings' life was worth more than thousands! I'm just trying to even out the score"

Karlach debates for a minute, If she lets Astarion do the ritual thousands would die but if she doesn't Cazador would surely find a way to ascend and hunt down Astarion. In the end, she lets Astarion see the scars on his back, she could feel the blade in his hand with a tight grip and his grief covered by the lust for power that he can obtain.

"Yes, yes I see it." Astarion smiles a wicked grin as he removes Cazador's top which reveals his bare back soon to be marked with a contract.

The moment the blade came in contact with Cazador's back it was followed by his blood-curdling screams with the sound of flesh being carved out rather brutally. Shadowheart had to look away until the screams came to an end and the contract was finally set on Cazador's back.

"Ungrateful child. Wretched child."

"It's time to take your place."

Astarion picked up Cazador's staff which gave him the power to place Cazador to where he would be sacrificed. He could feel it, the power was an inch away from his grasp. All he needed to do now was plow the staff into the ground to obtain all that power.

As he raised the staff with closed eyes all he could think of was you, the images of all the times you spent together flashed before his eyes, at first he was happy then enraged after realizing that he might never see your smile again. It was all he needed for him to plow the staff to the ground as a red aura emanated from the floor and to the spawns. He recited the chant for the ritual and finally, he felt stronger and even more powerful.

One by one they all died and Astarion could feel the power flowing through him, he was high on whatever power he just received and as Cazador died the ritual was complete. Shadowheart and Karlach could only look in concern and fear as Astarion smiled.

He was free at last, but how free could he be when the chains of your death still hold him hostage? He let go of the staff as it started floating on its own and started following him. He slowly walks towards your body, still no change, but he picks you up anyway and gives a small kiss on your forehead. "Come on sweetheart, I'll get you fixed up, I promise. I'll find a way."

He started to slowly walk out of the lair, not caring if the other two would follow or not. Your body cradled closely to his chest. He looked to your lips which would feel so tender against his- now unmoving, and your eyes- he was convinced had some sort of magic in it now closed. His head filled with thoughts of the endless power and control he could have and what that power could do to bring you back to life. He looked menacing just from the way he walked, anyone who stood in his way would be destroyed. In his mind, this is what grieving felt like, an emptiness to what should be full, the weight of the world on his shoulders, and the Gods laughing at his despair.

As he approaches the elevator, the gurs stand in alert ready to confront Astarion about what he's done but for their sake, he hopes they would stand down. For a grieving monster is more terrifying than they think.

[giyuulatte]

alright i finally finished the uncanny counter 2 and…

hmm

my thots and spoilers below

THIS IS ALL MY OPINION AND IM BLABBING AND IT IS YAP TIME

it’s 1am so i’m a lil coocoo

once again all MY OPINION if anyone sees this

honestly speaking this season was alright. it def did not compare to season one, which i was expecting. yet it wasn’t up to par with it either. it felt like too much and not enough at the same time so it kinda fell flat to me

in season one everything was connected and there were very clear motives. from the bullying, so mun’s parents, the evil spirits, ji chung shin himself, and the corrupt government. and chung shin’s backstory made me feel for him which is what made him a great antagonist imo. like i loved him

but hwang pil gwang (slick back), gelly (hongjoong variant LMFAOO), and wong (just wong tbh)….mmph

i can’t really remember the beginning it took me 2 months to finish it but, dude and his crew showed up outta nowhere and just started creating chaos for funsies???? now don’t get me wrong, i’m all for villainy for fun but i just couldn’t get into for some reason with them. it just feels like their characters weren’t fleshed out enough for me to actually like them no matter how fine they are bc the whole crew could get it

and then we move to ma ju seok my adoring and loving husband. now this was something i could get behind. him going on a rampage trying to get revenge for his wife and baby, having enough rage to summon an evil spirit on his own??? like that’s what i’m talking about!!! i felt for him and wanted him to succeed bc that con man was also annoying as shit. i really and truly wanted him dead bc he was the absolute worst jfc

if the story only focused on him, and getting his revenge and having to take him down. and only him. seeing how far his rage could take him and what would happen ON HIS OWN without any outside manipulation pil hwang *coughs* would have been a lil more interesting to me and i think i would have enjoyed it more. ik pil gwang wanted his power n shit BUT WHY. like give me a reason.

TO ME hwang pil gwang and his crew added absolutely nothing to this for me. and gelly betraying slick back and all that other stuff just felt unnecessary to me. gelly not being able to do anything and literally almost every single time the crew showed up, and bc pil gwang wouldn’t help her. GIRLY STAND UP AND HAVE SOME RESPECT YOU ARE A BADASS TF YOU DOIN???? GET OFF YA KNEES

AND ms chu’s newest child lim jae yeol….why was he there??? and be honest. what did he do for the plot other than give ms chu another child and show her backstory

and then do hwi, lawd my sweet piano man. WE WENT THROUGH ALL THAT JUST FOR HIM TO FORGET HA NA IN THE END I WAS SO PISSED bc once again. what tf did he add. i feel like he could have been good to ha na, genuinely. imagine getting dumped by ya not girlfriend after y’all done hung out together and have each other hiccup remedies, and then getting attacked by someone who finna rap they verse in bouncy i am so dead

i understand they were trying to idk, give their characters more depth but pls

mo tak punching so mun was NAWT on my 2023 kdrama bingo card. and he didn’t even apologize for it!!!! i understand he was angry and upset bc he thought lost his partner and so mun was doing a bit too much but i just feel like that was outta character for him to do…. and for him to not apologize for it was just, what???

and don’t get me started on jeok beong. i was um, expecting a lil bit more. yoo in soo is a FANTASTIC actor. if you told me he was gwi nam from aouad before hand i would have passed out. THAT MF RANGE IS INSANE!! but, but, jeok bong could have been more. i love him to death but he stayed the same person the entire time. granted towards the end he did start meshing with the group a bit better and throwing ideas out and stuff but i dunno bruh. i was feeling him and not feeling him at the same time.

the same goes for kang ki young. baby if you say that was myung seok from attorney woo i would have passed out pt2. like he did his thang bc i deadass hated his character even tho he was looking good as hell

the lack of so mun’s friends also bummed me out bc i really like them and they are an important part of his life. wanted to see more of those three together as well. my found family was not found with them this season

but the counters dynamic was still a++ like that’s real family. teasing ha na and do hwi, ha na having to save so mun while he was in a coma, then going to yung to ask why so mun leaving, jeok bong calling mun his brother just *wipes tear* magnificent

and why tf did mun have to lose his powers again. we did that shit in season one there was no need for that tbh

nothing to say about ms chu god bless.

nothing to say about jang mool god bless.

mun going over seas and seeing wi gen’s daughter like ENOUGH.

just…. too much, and yet not enough at the same time.

but i still very much enjoyed 8.5/10 BAYBEE

[missgowgow]

uncanny counter season 2 is definitely weaker than season 1 (tbf season 1 was really well written so it’s hard to live up to) but im not able to fully place why, I think my main problems are

1. the villains are wayyy less fleshed out and what we do have doesn’t work well with prior world building. I was down for “they came back for revenge” thing but it’s not focused on as much as the money and there’s no real reason for them to be that focused on the money? with the exception of baek hyang-hui who’s rage was based on her expensive tastes, evil spirits were characterized to be driven by fulfilling their impulse for violence and by strong desires from their human lives (ie. ji cheong-sin helping his adoptive dad and protecting the kids at the orphanage). gelly and hwang pil-kwang are definitely doing violence but they obviously must have other motivations if they’re so focused on this money and I feel like there hasn’t even been hints/slow character building about what those motivations are. ma joo-seok is getting fleshed out really well as a sympathetic villain so that makes up for a lot.

2. the few plot points from season one that could be followed up on feel like they’ve been dropped. we still don’t really know why so mun is special. it felt like they were hinting at romance between so mun and hana that was entirely dropped. even minor things like whether chu mae-ok went to the wedding or if mo-tak got in touch with jeong-yeong’s family after her death. kinda feels like a new story in the same universe instead of a continuation of the existing story.

3. not enough non-supernatural stuff. season 1 was strong imo because it showed how the supernatural was wrapped up in the mundane. evil spirits are abusive husbands and shitty bosses and school bullies. ordinary evils could also be possessed by evil spirits. even ji cheong-sin was being used as a hit man by normal evil businessmen who just cared about profit. it made everything feel more real and made the characters feel like people who existed outside of the plot. I’m feeling much less of that so far this season. big exception there is hana and her high school crush. was really hoping on more of a focus on what exactly everyone thinks so mun is doing rn if he’s not in college (also how did that happen?)

that being said, I’m actually really enjoying the season and I feel like the episodes are getting stronger as they go so I have high hopes. it’s just that season 1 was really well written so that every plot line was relevant and connected and every character was well fleshed out, so it felt jarring going right from season 1 to season 2.

(also this is petty but I wish they had kept the tighter curls from season 1, everyone looks really good there’s nothing to complain about, I just liked the tighter curls as a story element lol)

[maximuswolf]

I am reposting this diss on my dad

I am reposting this diss on my dad I escaped that abusive grasp, No more forcing me out my space! He tried to break me down, But I still thrived, aced my blaze with grace I feel relief oh but trauma still lingers, Shadows of pain is hard to erase!I'm free from chains of abuse, chains to refuse, resurface my will to live I hope he cryin' he almost got me dyin' on the floor couldn't take it no more. If he my friend then I'm YNW Melly I gotta be the sayer I'm your biggest hater! I hate the way that you love, the way you didn't try, you try to lie but you not that guy we was petrified now I'm electrified you're words have been pacified yeah you crushed by pride but no mo silent terror, no more fright. Your threats have been pacified, I'm standing tall, not feeling slight. The echoes of your hate subside, no more cowering, no more divide. I'm rising above the pain, Thriving on resilience, never will I complain! you was sell out for the pain but I ain't got no gain, you sacrificed my life for some spice. No I won't subside someone call an ambulance this man bouta get sent, if I catch flight this gon' be direct I promise James you'll feel like lame I hate the way that you think you're a puppet master but you've only refused a pastor I feel like I'm poppin' PERCs I got a smirk I'm finna lurk inside yo mind all this time I've been timed. Was 'level now ten I don't need no pen oh god didn't send you he sent me as revenge! No more following fake leaders, I rise above their empty pleasers. You may have abandoned me in the face of my sacred day but now I've rose and I take my pose, oh god didn't send you, he sent me as revenge! Now let's not play pretend I'm tryna offend because to be honest I hated how you was so insufferable, every mistake was taxable you took out my heart. You think you a chef but I'm one to cook come and look you can't even read a book!Pop's got that Kincaid name, yeah I'll have that dropped because honestly I hated all the ways you never even tried, nah you just lied to my face without any grace. I was led to believe one day I'd be dead and I was dead you I know you never loved me. Your love is a hyperbole I know what under that mask you gave me no lask I couldn't even ask for boxers from my lockers without you bein' mad and trust me if you catch my flight I'll turn out your lights you hated them on anyway. Let me say you're done to me you got no money but happy I was merced with a burst I'm at my worst now lemme hit this verse! Through the shadows where I felt so isolated, your silence spoke louder than any words you voiced. Every attempt to speak, every thought dismissed and I struggled to be seen, I was never noticed. my feelings got PERC focused it's quite ironic you always wanted me to be like sonic but your words hit supersonic I wasn't promised any love, any doves but I'll get some for your grave!I know you couldn't save and know you're out my name I felt so maimed your words hurt me like sticks and stones you hated my 'phones you felt I was addicted but I wasn't lifted my presence wasn't appreciated I hate the way that you walked the way you talked I hated the way you sneaked my shit I knew you was dishonest but to be honest I feel like Adonis but you ain't my Aphrodite you ain't that mighty I ain't got no nightie and to put it lightly you could've asked politely on half the time you was mad at me you afraid of me I felt pinned down like an animatronic you're words were supersonic. I was smoking women with all that rage at your ripe old age I thought you'd know better nah I ain't a quitter but you're just bitter I left a bigger man! Submitted June 06, 2024 at 10:37AM by fccardcreator https://ift.tt/T7nhyRl via /r/Music

[aprefrostedcake]

Thank you, you too! It's hard to find a discussion where both parties may disagree on a lot of things, but still maintain respect and civility. I think your criticism is fair, I can see how you've arrived at your point of view.

I argue she is wise and insightful in the show - she's shown it multiple times in some pretty great dialogue with other characters. But she refuses to apply that wisdom to her own circumstances, blinded as she is by grief and rage. She parallels Adar with her drive to eliminate Sauron by any means necessary, to the point of destruction for themselves and those around them. Yet I never see Adar accused of acting like a "petulant child" when frankly Galadriel is right more often than he is!

That is why she presses her comrades to continue at all costs in the Forodwaith. To me that doesn't mean egotistical or selfish (she is perfectly willing, always, to sacrifice herself as well). Rather she is deaf to reason, because the only thing keeping her moving is revenge. It is a flaw, in fact her obsession is currently one of her most central character flaws, and it's painted as such when her soldiers rebel against her. Side note, I think that's what's going to happen to Adar too, except orcs are not so nice as elves when they rebel...

Gil-Galad is practical. He gets some foresight that somehow Galadriel's quest will bring about Sauron, and is wise enough to realize that there is a darkness of vengeance in her heart borne of great pain - perhaps sending her to Valinor would fix both. Only the dangers of foresight is that by acting to prevent what you see, you can end up setting in motion exactly what you wished to prevent, and that's exactly what happens. Whoops.

Like I said, she's not naive or a fool for being deceived. In fact once she got her suspicions she went and found out the truth, then confronted Sauron and rejected him. Celebrimbor was deceived even more thoroughly, and he's one of the cleverest elves around. Sauron used her pride and isolation to manipulate her, an MO we see repeated again. It helps that she still saw her mission as justified and necessary at the time.

True clarity of self is perhaps the hardest thing to achieve. Most especially when you've undergone the level of trauma and loss Galadriel has (no wonder she is so fanatically driven to hunt out Sauron (and that dark compulsion is what Sauron ends up preying on!)). Yet that clarity is how she passes Frodo's test by the Third Age.

I believe this is what the showrunners decided to use as an interesting central character arc. Despite their sometimes dubious choices, I think they do pay careful attention to the texts. And those texts paint a fascinating portrait of Galadriel - her desire to rule, her rebellion against the Valar, the hint of darkness that could've lead her to taking the Ring out of initially good intentions, suppressed by her wisdom and "knowledge of Sauron's mind". She isn't simply a wise sage. She's got quite a murky past that the writers are exploring.

Is it always done well? Arguably no. But by setting aside my preconceptions of how a Galadriel should act and focusing on her motivations as given by the show, I can paradoxically see how she might evolve into that keen and strangely terrifying Lady of Lothlorien who passes Frodo's test.

In regards to the kiss, although I believe they could've easily gone with something different (like an embrace, as you say) and chose a kiss primarily for the shock factor (sigh) I am glad that it was not so much a making out but just a press of lips together. I'll file that under "firmly platonic" and try to forget it happened, ha.

As for why they decided to choose Galadriel as one of the main characters, I can only speculate, but it might be because she is one of the most interesting female characters in the Second Age. You must admit the quantity of female characters in Tolkien's legendarium is lacking. ROP has had to create female characters from whole cloth (Disa is one of my absolute favorites, though I lament her lack of beardedness). Personally I am really intrigued by Galadriel's character and Morfydd Clark plays her amazingly.

Of course this is all just my interpretation. Thank you again for the interesting discussion!

Rings of Power is Insidiously Sexist

And I’m tired of pretending none of us can see it.

If you enjoy the show, please don’t take this as an attack on you. All media has problematic elements and we all do the best we can in a messed up world. My ire is reserved strictly for the people making these “creative” choices.

The way the show treats Galadriel is misogynistic.

Turning the kind, matronly sage imbued with divine wisdom by the light of the two trees into a naive, selfish hothead who gets ship baited with both the villain AND her son-in-law for titillation is incredibly sexist.

They wouldn’t have had Elrond kiss his father-in-law to “save” him. Everyone would’ve rightfully been disgusted. So why is it okay to do this to Galadriel?

Elrond wouldn’t kiss Gil-Galad, or Celebrimbor, or his bff Durin to “save” them. We would all recognize this as sloppy OOC writing just meant to stir up shippers. So why is it acceptable to do to Galadriel? Being a female character is not an invitation to use her as fan service ship bait. Not once but TWICE.

The way the score swells and the kiss is deep and framed as romantic (even though he’s handing her something and didn’t need to shove himself on her like that at all!), despite the fact that Galadriel is married and elves are by nature monogamous (so much so that forcing yourself on them can even KILL them). As if everything about the narrative framing is subconsciously telling you to ignore Galadriel’s POV and the discomfort she would be feeling and be moved by how “meaningful” this kiss is. But also it’s a deception so don’t get mad! So incredibly transparent.

The fact that they also made her an arrogant idiot that fell for Sauron’s manipulations, when in Tolkien’s canon she is described as one of first to see through him, is also a telling choice. Especially when it would’ve made more sense to have Celebrimbor be the one manipulated and fooled.

So why have it be Galadriel? Why not do their weird ship-teasing bullshit between Annatar and Celebrimbor? At least it might serve the story then.

It’s because she is “female elf”, and therefore she has to be mean, violent, selfish, and stupid. But she isn’t allowed to be criticized either! That’s their idea of a “strong” female character.

So yeah. Personally I find that incredibly sexist.

So for that, I rate ROP a big old “cast it into the fire”.

[motivationisdead]

Some moments in Chapter 54 of Mo Dao Zu Shi (ExR translation) that caught my eye. AKA teen Wangxian are hopeless:

Wei WuXian protested, “It’s very unhealthy for blood like this to be held in. It gets out with just a scare, though. Don’t worry—I don’t like men, I won’t take advantage of the opportunity and do anything to you.”

Uh-huh. Sure. I totally believe you Wei Wuxian. It’s not like I know the two of you get married in the future or anything.

In all seriousness though, Wei Wuxian says this here but it’s definitely apparent to the reader that he seems to have a little bit of a crush on Lan Wangji. It’s fair that Wei Wuxian doesn’t seem interested nor focused on romance right now though. I mean *gestures vaguely* he kind of has a lot going on. And it’s not really a priority for him later either.

I also wonder if this is when Lan Wangji decided a romantic relationship between him and Wei Wuxian would be impossible—assuming he hadn’t already thought so before.

Without speaking a word, Lan WangJi took out some of the herbs from his palm and pressed them onto Wei Wuxian’s chest.

Wei WuXian’s entire body trembled as he exclaimed, “Ah!”

He had forgotten that there was a fresh wound on himself as well, created by the iron. It was also still bleeding and had also been soaked in water.

I’m kind of reminded of Chapter 45 when Lan Wangji applied ointment to Wei Wuxian’s wrists.

Lan Wangji still wants to take care of Wei Wuxian here but how he goes about it is very different to how his future self does. Here Lan Wangji is forceful and almost rough in his treatment. In chapter 45 Lan Wangji is much more gentle and attends to Wei Wuxian’s comparatively smaller hurt with the utmost care and attention.

Growth! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Suddenly, Lan WangJi shoved him [Wei Wuxian] hard, raging, “So you also know that she will not be able to forget you for the rest of her life!!!”

Collapsed on the ground, he broke into a cold sweat from the pain, moaning with his neck stretched forward, “… Lan Zhan, you… Have I done something to you?! … This would be enough revenge to pay for killing your father!”

It’s a little funny because Lan Wangji is very mature for his age and yet the only thing Lan Wangji can not seem to handle with any level of maturity are his feelings for Wei Wuxian.

But it’s also a little sad because it’s due to the environment he was raised in and the fact the Lan Sect doesn’t encourage expressing emotions. So naturally when faced with emotions Lan Wangji has never learned or been taught how to deal with in a healthy way his response is to lash out and push away the source of them.

The problem with that though is that it’s unfair to Wei Wuxian who doesn’t deserve Lan Wangji lashing out at him. Especially not while he’s already injured. And sure enough as a consequence of Lan Wangji’s actions Wei Wuxian immediately creates distance between them after this:

A moment later, he [Lan Wangji] relaxed, seeming as if he wanted to help Wei WuXian up. However, Wei WuXian sat up on his own and shrunk backward a couple of times, “Fine, fine! I know you don’t like me. Then I’ll sit farther away. Don’t come here! Don’t push me again. It’s so painful.”

The wound was on his left side, so it began to hurt whenever he raised his left arm. Wei WuXian shrunk to the side. Picking up the white clothes that had been torn into strips, he tossed them toward Lan WangJi using his right hand, “You can bind it yourself. I’m not gonna go over.”

Lan Wangji’s about to help Wei Wuxian up here but the damage has already been done and Wei Wuxian pulls back further from him—not trusting Lan Wangji won’t lash out again at him. And even though Wei Wuxian was so insistent on treating Lan Wangji’s leg before, now he insists Lan Wangji does it himself.

And you can also clearly see the difference between this scene and how Lan Wangji acts in the future. Lan Wangji definitely takes more of a ‘my feelings are my responsibility, not Wei Ying’s’ stance after Wei Wuxian comes back. He’s very careful not to make Wei Wuxian feel pressured or like Wei Wuxian has to hold himself back with him.

It’s great—I’m so proud of him. Look at how much Lan Wangji has grown and learned from his past mistakes.

Somehow, Wei WuXian had moved beside him again and sat down, speaking without a care for the consequences, “Because there’s no other choice. We’re the only two unfortunate souls left here, aren’t we? If you don’t have useless conversations with me, then who will you have them with?”

But of course it’s not long before Wei Wuxian is drawn back into Lan Wangji’s space to tease him more.

The two of them really are hopeless. - I say with all the love in my heart.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

So I’m guessing the answer is never, but would the cast of HP or even say Tom and Lily (the two smartest people) be able to find Kira?

The cast of HP? Harry Potter and friends? God no.

Harry Potter

Harry would enter seething rage when Kira murders Sirius (displayed on muggle news for the murder of dozens of people) and swear himself to revenge. He, of course, assumes Kira is British because Everything is British (TM).

He gets the team together and Hermione researches what Kira could possibly be in the library. She finds nothing, she notes to Harry that they have no guarantees that Kira is British or that Sirius was an explicit target any more so than the hundreds of thousands of others that Kira has murdered.

Harry kicks her out of the friend group and refuses to speak to her for two months.

Harry normally would blame Snape or Draco. He follows Draco around for two months uselessly, certain it must be him, but even Harry has to acknowledge the scale of this is... huge.

He blames Voldemort: Voldemort is Kira.

It fits his MO and everything: he's killing muggles! He killed Sirius! THAT BASTARD.

Harry is very upset that Dumbledore refuses to allow Harry to participate in the investigation/stopping Voldemort's evil evilness. He tries to enter Voldemort's dreams for once, to gain vital intelligence: he gets nothing.

He tries this for the entire Kira debacle.

Harry never realizes that Voldemort was not, in fact, Kira.

Dumbledore

Dumbledore also thinks Tom Riddle must be Kira. This is so diabolical, so heinous, that it must be him. This is the first of his twelve step plan to get the muggles to worship him as a God when he appears before them as Kira in a physical body.

Dumbledore hyper focuses on this and pumps Snape for information.

Snape has none, Voldemort's telling him nothing, which is indicative of nothing. Tom could be playing it close to the chest or else he's not Kira. Unclear.

Dumbledore goes about investigating in his usual manner which is pretty much the way he investigates everything: trying to get memories from very reluctant sources. He wastes a year trying to get Slughorn to give him a memory of a Christmas party from fifty years ago.

Dumbledore never realizes that Tom was not, in fact, Kira.

Your Intriguing AU

Per your ask though, we get to pull out all the stops. For some reason, we're in a detective AU in which Tom and Lily are partners hell bent on stopping Kira: even though nobody cares. I don't know how we reached this AU, anon, but it intrigues me nonetheless.

The Rules

No L, as that would be cheating and all Tom and Lily would have to do is follow his leave/infiltrate the muggle investigation.

Wizards also have no distinct advantage to muggles: they can't see shinigami either unless they touch the notebook. Otherwise they're just cheating.

Our Aurors

Tom Riddle and Lily Evans are partners in this weird noir spin off to the Harry Potter universe. Lily Evans is a muggle born woman that nobody takes seriously, Tom Riddle is presumed muggle born by society and no one takes him seriously, they always get stuck with the absolute worst jobs by the department.

Kira is not the job they're stuck with.

Lily, following muggle news, becomes very concerned very quickly. Someone is a) murdering people left and right with magic on a massive scale, b) using magic Lily can scarcely comprehend, c) flagrantly breaking the statute of secrecy on an international level.

She gets brushed aside: muggles die of heart attacks all the time, international wizards with more experience will take care of it, shut up and go back to giving out apparation misuse tickets.

It doesn't get better though. It gets much worse.

No one seems to be able to find Kira and has no idea what country he or she is even operating in. No one knows what magic he or she could possibly be using. And... the wizarding world is starting to take advantage of this.

Criminals previously too difficult or dangerous to catch? They run stories in muggle media, whamo, their good friend is now dead with no injuries to the auror corps. Good show, Kira.

Lily and Tom have a drunk conversation somewhere where they decide they must take this on themselves. Well, Lily does, Tom takes a bit of convincing as he, for one, welcomes their new ant overlords and has reached a level of cynicism that knows no bounds. But alright, two maverick, wizard cops, are going to track down Kira.

How do they do it?

I imagine they start where L presumably started: they look for patterns in the initial deaths. Doing this long enough, they can likely pinpoint Kira to Japan and conclude that, for a while, he seemed to kill outside the hours of 8 to 4. Kira is likely a student or else works with a student's schedule.

It's not much but the pair take extended leave and head to Tokyo.

There they probably resort to magical means and this... might get them pretty decent results depending. It's unclear how divination actually works, but it may be able to pick up traces of other to get them in Ryuk's vicinity or else get them Light's face.

(Again, this may be a bit of cheating on my part, but it's something that feels in line with what magic could accomplish and thus within the range of Lily and Tom's abilities).

Of course, the question is a) if this kid really is Kira b) how do they prove it? Tom argues there's no need to prove it, they give Kira the Kira treatment: whack him over the head and throw his body in the gutter.

Lily does not approve.

As for proving whether he is, well, that's what legilimency is for. Lily doesn't like doing that without a warrant, but they're on vacation and Tom only has so much leave. Tom reads Light's mind and... well... this is complicated.

Turns out Shinigami are a thing no one knew about. They really do have ant overlords who might kill them at any moment.

Lily decides she can't even and burns the notebook. Ryuk is devastated, Light now has no memories of being Kira, and finds himself sitting on a park bench with two Brits with the worst fashion taste in the world.

Lily wonders if they can or even should arrest Light when he appears to a) have no memories of being Kira b) Lily and Tom... have no warrant and no backing. Tom thinks they've done enough, he wants to go on vacation for real now.

Tom pats a confused Light on the shoulder and suggests he invest in therapy.

Three months later, Ryuk drops another notebook.

[rueluxprince]

Why Does Jin Guangyao Have So Many Goddamn Ships

This dude. I don’t know what is with him. He can be shipped with so many goddamn people, and you can find something in canon (show/novel/audio drama) to justify it. You like a specific trope? He’ll have a ship that gives it to you. (Lets extrapolate some from canon)

Qin Su/Jin Guangyao: Naive yet headstrong heiress trying to fight on the battlefield and contribute to the greater good. Bit off more than she could chew and was rescued by a gentle and quietly self-assured young man. Romance and comedy ensues as she vows to make him her husband! Flowers! Hijinks! Enlisting quirky handmaidens for advice! Jin Guangshan doesn’t exist in this one!

Lan Xichen/Jin Guangyao: hero saves the beauty, gay edition. Young bookkeeper wants to be worthy of noble young master’s esteem, works his ass off, puts himself in years of danger, finally climbs to the top and now must deal with the “is he or is he not” of romance in politics! Is he or is he not? He’s always at your house and gives you a free pass to his house and draws you exclusive paintings and only attends conferences hosted by you and trusts you completely! But he never says anything! Cue the yearning! The soft touches! Reminders of etiquette! Swooning into strong arms!

Jiang Cheng/Jin Guangyao: reluctant and accidental co-parents reluctantly and accidentally fall in love in the long years of raising a precocious nephew into adulthood. The kid turned out surprisingly okay, with a commendably hard moral backbone. One realizes it’s nice to have a perpetually angry grape ready to blow up in your defense. The other realizes someone closest to him is already fulfilling all his marriage requirements and he didn’t even know it! Domestic bliss! Cute kids! Internal struggles of sexuality! The italicized oh!

Nie Mingjue/Jin Guangyao: Noble and righteous leader recognizing and promoting downtrodden but talented beginner –> no good opinion forthcoming but still wants to care his own way older brother x turning down a dark path but still wants to go back the way things were younger brother –> So much resentment fierce corpse x unable to forget the guilt murderer –> they are buried together. Deteriorating relationship! Shakespearean tragedy! Ultimate darkness! Death! Eternity with each other!

(Honorable mention: 3zun - a wholesome ouroboros loop of death, mystery and found family)

Nie Huaisang/Jin Guangyao: you ever have that one childhood friend that takes care of you and indulges in your oddities and protects you with murderous looks and a scarred back even though he’s frailer than you are; and then that childhood friend murders your older brother but leaves you alive and still takes cares of you and spoils you and would drop everything to help you with a made up problem? And so you’re now left seething in rage because how dare he ruin you and love you all without pause?! Cue the revenge plots! Lies! Deceit! Best actor winners going toe to toe on the world’s biggest stage! Inner conflict! Angst! More conflicted plotting!

Mo Xuanyu->Jin Guangyao: You’re weak and a mess and constantly bullied and the only one in this huge and scary house that ever showed you kindness is your older half brother. He becomes a god in your eyes, all golden and brilliant and surrounded by equally golden and beautiful people you can never touch. But you still try despite everything because he’s the sun and he wanted you to thrive, and you’re just a little moth ramming head first into the flames. And when you’re scorched to the bone and everyone still keeps on trying to stomp you into ash and you finally decide to take revenge, you still can’t bring yourself to blame that splendid sun who were never yours in the first place. Resentments! Unrequited love! More angst! Inner courtyard intrigues! More tragedy! Poetic inner monologues!

Su She->Jin Guangyao: generous and focused ruler x dedicated and competent supporter. He gives you all the respect you need and you know in your soul you will die for him and you don’t care one whit about it. You protect his heart but you always stood one step behind. The position beside him is taken, often by a soft figure in golden silk, or an eminent figure in blue satin. Jealousy! Loud expressions of loyalty! Ego management! Pining and simping!

Xue Yang/Jin Guangyao - friends who murder together stays together. One causes wanton destruction and the other picks up after them. Not because he particularly cares that people are getting hurt but the cost analysis tells him it’s not worth the clean up. You pay for my shopping, I rip out the tongues of anyone that insults your mother. Lighthearted talks of murder! Scheming with friends! Lots of cursing! Dubious experiments! Lots of magical cursing! Friends with benefits!

Wen Ruohan/Meng Yao: local megalomanic tyrant sees this random ass kid all bloodied up and gleaming with spite and went “I would like to raise that one. I’ll give it a sword and I’ll teach him stuff and I won’t say I appreciate him but I will definitely save him from imminent danger.” And that kid acknowledges said tyrant as his teacher and tortures for him pretends to love him, all the while stealing his secrets and preparing to stab him in the back to win the war. Struggle! Trauma! Living in hardship! Double agent reminding themselves not to be conflicted! Psychological torture!

Wen Chao + Wen Xu: uhhhhhh, the canoodling with stepmom trope? Do we even go that far on tumblr? It’s a possibility I’ve considered for about two seconds and now I wish I could wash my brain out.

Jin Zixun~~Jin Guangyao: the “I know I’m slapping the me two years ago in the face with what I’m doing right now but it’s love so I don’t care” trope? All the Jins do this. The year before you were all “why are you always here you don’t belong here you bastard son” and now you’re all “wheres A-Yao he promised he would ambush this public menace with me owo?!??!!??” What a weakass motherfucker with weakass principles.

Honorable mentions:

Wei Wuxian + Jin Guangyao: best in law dynamics, potentially. Terrorizing the Cloud Recesses, eating lots of spicy food, hiding secrets in perfectly groomed hair, causing aneurysms in Lan Qiren, violating all the OH&S regulations Etc.

Lan Wangji + Jin Guangyao: best in law dynamics, actually. It’s a whole battle. Jin “I am physically incapable of seeing someone and not wanting to take care of it” Guang “yes I will be calling you Wangji and trying to give you stuff and show audible concern for your love life” Yao vs. Lan “I do not wish to know you I do not care for your seating arrangements do not ever invite me to your banquets again” Wang “just because you’re maybe dating my precious older brother does not mean I will not refute you to your face about my boyfriend at your banquet in front of said brother” Ji.

(And yes the last two are purely familial/platonic. And also everyone else? You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift is the most fitting theme song for half of them)

~more MDZS metas under #my thing# tag~

[superman86to99]

Superman #85 (January 1994)

Cat Grant in... "DARK RETRIBUTION"! Which is like normal retribution, but somehow darker. On the receiving end of Cat's darktribution is Winslow Schott, the Toyman, who suddenly changed his MO from "pestering Superman with wacky robots" to "murdering children" back on Superman #84, with one of his victims being Cat's young son Adam. Now Cat has a gun and intends to sneak it into prison to use it on Toyman. She's also pretty pissed at Superman for taking so long to find Toyman after Adam’s death (to be fair, Superman did lose several days being frozen in time by an S&M demon, as seen in Man of Steel #29).

So how did Superman find Toyman anyway? Basically, by spying on like 25% of Metropolis. After finding out from Inspector Turpin that the kids were killed near the docks, Superman goes there and focuses all of his super-senses to get "a quick glimpse of every person" until he sees a bald, robed man sitting on a giant crib, and goes "hmmm, yeah, that looks like someone who murders children." At first, Superman doesn't understand why Toyman would do such a horrible thing, but then Schott starts talking to his mommy in his head and the answer becomes clear: he watched Psycho too many times (or Dan Jurgens did, anyway).

Immediately after wondering why no one buys his toys, Toyman makes some machine guns spring out of his giant crib. I don't know, man, maybe it's because they're all full of explosives and stuff? Anyway, Toyman throws a bunch of exploding toys at Superman, including a robot duplicate of himself, but of course they do nothing. Superman takes him to jail so he can get the help he needs -- which, according to Cat, is a bullet to the face. Or so it seems, until she gets in front of him, pulls the trigger, and...

PSYCHE! It was one of those classic joke guns I’ve only ever seen in comics! Cat says she DID plan to bring a real gun, but then she saw one of these at a toy store and just couldn't resist. Superman, who was watching the whole thing, tells Cat she could get in trouble for this stunt, but he won't tell anyone because she's already been through enough. Then he asks her if she needs help getting home and she says no, because she wants to be more self-sufficient.

I think that's supposed to be an inspiring ending, but I don't know... Adam's eerie face floating in the background there makes me think she's gonna shave her head and climb into a giant crib any day, too. THE END!

Character-Watch:

Cat did become more self-sufficient after this, though. Up to now, all of her storylines seemed to revolve around other people: her ex-husband, Morgan Edge, José Delgado, Vinnie Edge, and finally Toyman. After this, I feel like there was a clear effort to turn her into a character that works by herself. I actually like what they did with Cat in the coming years, though I still don’t think they had to kill her poor kid to do that -- they could have sent him off to boarding school, or maybe to live with his dad. Or with José Delgado, over at Power of Shazam! I bet Jerry Ordway would have taken good care of him.

Plotline-Watch:

Wait, so can Superman just find anyone in Metropolis any time he wants? Not really: this is part of the ongoing storyline about his powers getting boosted after he came back from the dead, which sounds pretty useful now but is about to get very inconvenient.

Don Sparrow points out: "It is interesting that as Superman tries to capture Schott, he at one point instead captures a robot decoy, particularly knowing what Geoff Johns will retroactively do to this storyline in years to come, in Action Comics #865, as we mentioned in our review of Superman #84." Johns also explained that the robot thought he was hearing his mother's voice due to the real Toyman trying to contact him via radio, which I prefer to the "psycho talks to his dead mom" cliche.

Superman says "I never thought he'd get to the point where he'd KILL anyone -- especially children!" Agreed about the children part but, uh, did Superman already forget that Toyman murdered a whole bunch people on his very first appearance, in Superman #13? Or does Superman not count greedy toy company owners as people? Understandable, I guess.

There's a sequence about Cat starting a fire in a paper basket at the prison to sneak past the metal detector, but why do that if she had a toy gun all long? Other than to prevent smartass readers like us from saying "How did she get the gun into the prison?!" before the plot twist, that is.

Patreon-Watch:

Shout out to our patient Patreon patrons, Aaron, Murray Qualie, Chris “Ace” Hendrix, britneyspearsatemyshorts, Patrick D. Ryall, Bheki Latha, Mark Syp, Ryan Bush, Raphael Fischer, Dave Shevlin, and Kit! The latest Patreon-only article was about another episode of the 1988 Superman cartoon written by Marv Wolfman, this one co-starring Wonder Woman (to Lois' frustration).

Another Patreon perk is getting to read Don Sparrow's section early, because he usually finishes his side of these posts long before I do (he ALREADY finished the next one, for instance). But now this one can be posted in public! Take it away, Don:

Art-Watch (by @donsparrow​):

We begin with the cover, and it’s a good one— an ultra tight close up for Cat Grant firing a .38 calibre gun, with the titular Superman soaring in, perhaps too late.  An interesting thing to notice in this issue (and especially on the cover) is that the paper stock that DC used for their comics changed, so slightly more realistic shading was possible.  While it’s nowhere near the sophistication or gloss of the Image Comics stock of the time, there is an attempt at more realistic, airbrushy type shading in the colour.  It works well in places, like the muzzle flash, on on Cat Grant’s cheeks and knuckles, but less so in her hair, where the shadow looks a browny green on my copy.

The interior pages open with a pretty good bit of near-silent storytelling.  We are deftly shown, and not told the story—there are condolence cards and headlines, and the looming presence of a liquor bottle, until we are shown on the next page splash the real heart of the story, a revolver held aloft by Catherine Grant, bereaved mother, with her targeting in her mind the grim visage of the Toyman.

While their first few issues together meshed pretty well, it’s around  this issue that the pencil/inks team of Jurgens and Rubinstein starts to look a little rushed in places.  A few inkers who worked with Jurgens that I’ve spoken to have hinted that his pencils can vary in their level of detail, from very finished  to pretty loose, and in the latter case, it’s up to the inker to embellish where there’s a lack of detail.  Some inkers, like Brett Breeding, really lay down a heavier hand, where there’s quite a bit of actual drawing work in addition to adding value and weight to the lines.  I suspect some of the looseness in the figures, as well as empty  backgrounds reveals that these pencils were less detailed than we often  see from Jurgens.

There’s some weird body language in the tense exchange between Superman and Cat as she angrily confronts him about his lack of progress in capturing her son’s killer—Superman  looks a little too dynamic and pleased with himself for someone ostensibly apologizing. Superman taking flight to hunt down Toyman is classic Jurgens, though.

Another example of art weirdness comes on page 7, where Superman gets filled in on the progress of the Adam Morgan investigation.  Apparently Suicide Slum has some San Francisco-like hills, as that is one very steep sidewalk separating Superman and Turpin from some central-casting looking punks.

The  sequence of Superman concentrating his sight and hearing on the  waterfront area is well-drawn, and it’s always nice to see novel uses of his powers.  Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman does a similar trick quite often on the excellent first season of Superman & Lois.  The full-bleed splash of Superman breaking through the wall to capture Toyman is definitely panel-of-the-week material, as we really feel Superman’s rage and desperation to catch this child-killer.

Pretty much all the pages with Cat Grant confronting Winslow Schott are  well-done and tensely paced.  While sometimes I think the pupil-less  flare of the eye-glasses is a cop-out, it does lend an opaqueness and mystery to what Toyman is thinking.  Speaking of cop-outs, the gag gun twist ending really didn’t work for me.  I was glad that Cat didn’t lower herself to Schott’s level and become a killer, even for revenge, but the prank gun just felt too silly of a tonal shift for a storyline with this much gravitas.  The breakneck denouement that Cat is now depending only on herself didn’t get quite enough breathing room either.

While I appreciated that the ending of this issue avoided an overly simplistic, Death Wish style of justice, this issue extends this troubling but brief era of Superman comics. The casual chalk outlines of  yet two more dead children continues the high body count of the  previous handful of issues, and the tone remains jarring to me.  The issue is also self-aware enough to point out, again, that Schott is  generally an ally of children, and not someone who historically wishes  them harm, but that doesn’t stop the story from going there, in the most  violent of terms. In addition to being a radical change to the Toyman  character, it’s handled in a fashion more glib than we’re used to seeing  in these pages.  The mental health cliché of a matriarchal obsession, a la Norman Bates doesn’t elevate it either.  So, another rare misstep  from Jurgens the writer, in my opinion.   STRAY OBSERVATIONS:

I  had thought for sure that Romanove Vodka was a sly reference to a certain Russian Spy turned Marvel superhero, but it turns out there  actually is a Russian Vodka called that, minus the “E”, produced not in Russia, as one might think from the Czarist name, but rather, India.

While it made for an awkward exchange, I was glad that Cat pointed out how  her tragedy more or less sat on the shelf while Superman dealt with the "Spilled Blood" storyline.  A lesser book might not have acknowledged any  time had passed. Though I did find it odd for Superman to opine that he  wanted to find her son’s murderer even more than she wanted him to.  Huh?  How so?

I love the detail that Toyman hears the noise of Superman soaring to capture him, likening it to a train coming.

I  quibble, but there’s so much I don’t understand about the “new” Toyman.  If he’s truly regressing mentally, to an infant-like state, why does he wear this phantom of the opera style long cloak while he sits in his baby crib?  Why not go all the way, and wear footie pajamas, like the lost souls on TLC specials about “adult babies”?

I get that Cat Grant is in steely determination mode, but it seemed a little out of place that she had almost no reaction to the taunting she faced from her child’s killer.  She doesn’t shed a single tear in the entire issue, and no matter how focused she is on vengeance, that doesn’t seem realistic to me. [Max: That's because this is not just retribution, Don. It's dark retribution. We’ve been over this!]

[a-dorin]

fulfillment | darth maul

word count: 1,665

warnings: smut, oral (receiving), horn kink, dominance 

summary: after some persuasion from his work, darth maul fulfills your desires. 

the room was dark, dimly lit by a kerosene lamp. a figure was illuminated by the lamp, his features softened by a golden glow. his eyes were narrowed, focused on the transcription before him. he let out a huff of frustration, rubbing his temple with a gloved hand. his amber eyes gleamed, his horns shining ivory. 

the door creaking open interrupted the zabrak, his shoulders flinching in surprise. relief flooded his features when he recognized the figure before him, a soft purr rumbling from his throat, "hello, my love."

you wrapped your arms around maul's neck, placing a tender kiss on his cheek, "you should come to bed."

a sigh escaped maul's lips, "i'm making progress. i need to find his location."

"obi-wan kenobi's location hasn't shifted in weeks," you protested, "it will not change in the morning. he is in hiding. i thought you established this several hours ago maul."

maul growled at the mention of the jedi's name, rage consuming his thoughts, "that is why it is imperative i find him."

"maul," you pleaded, "come to bed. please."

darth maul had been tied to his desk throughout the day. any time you popped in, he was hunched over his workspace, fingers toying with a datapad or his nose deep into paperwork. the zabrak was on the heels of the jedi, obi-wan kenobi. you knew why. maul was desperate to wreak havoc on obi-wan. maul ached to seek his revenge. after all, the jedi took away his legs. maul wanted to take obi-wan's life in trade for all of the pain, anguish, and suffering he endured. 

you were the zabrak's lover, a shy, timid young woman from tatooine. working as a traveling medic, you hopped from planet planet, in search of work. luckily, in your field, opportunities were always present. one brisk summer evening, you bumped into maul at the mos eisley cantina, where he spilled his drink all over your clothes. 

at first, he showed no remorse, only snorting as you let out a yelp. however, once he noticed the tears brimming your eyes, he softened, offering to buy you clothing from the marketplace. you obliged, the two of you connecting on your walk to the vendors. from there, it was the beginning of a beautiful love story. 

the force created a bond, intertwining your souls. although you were neither sith nor jedi, you were force sensitive. darth maul was a sith, fulfilling his destiny under the force. you weren't sure why there was a war among the jedi and sith, but you tried your best to understand. after all, you were in love with a sith lord. and he was very infatuated with you. 

darth maul was not the soft type. the zabrak could slice off heads with ease, showing no signs of disgust or recoil. he had seen mass amounts of bloodshed, often by his own hands. however, there was one thing in the vast universe that made his knees buckle and his throat tighten. it was you, brought into his life by the force. maul felt an intense bond between the two of you, the feeling sweeping him off his feet at times. 

you were the most beautiful thing in the universe, far more gorgeous than the stars. maul adored your (e/c) eyes, the way they glowed whenever he entered the room. the way your lips curved into a bright smile. you were his everything. his soul mate. 

the desperation inflected in your tone piqued the zabrak's interest, snapping him out of his thoughts. he could sense your desire. your want. your need. and it was all for him. immediately, maul rose from his seat, stretching his legs. he placed his hands on your hips, savoring the way your butt brushed against his own hips as you moved. 

"i'm coming to bed," maul purred, "just like you asked love."

blush tinged your cheeks as you entered the shared quarters. it was rare that maul showed affection. of course he adored you, but he was not the type to show it. often, you were the one at his beck-and-call. the fact that he was obeying your request sent a shiver of excitement down your spine. 

maul sat on the edge of the bed, amber eyes hungry, anticipating your next move. you slipped your tunic over your head, breasts bouncing as you did so. maul's eyes widened, the zabrak chewing on his lip to contain his eagerness.

you turned momentarily to fish out a clean tunic from your wardrobe, but you felt his warm hands knead your breasts, rolling your nipples between his thumbs, "don't you dare put anything else on."

a soft moan filled the room as maul pressed light, feathery kisses down your jawline, onto your neck. he nipped at your skin, ensuring that he left marks. there was nothing that the zabrak loved more than marking what was his. 

"let's move this to the bed," maul murmured, his tone laced with lust.

you nodded, laying down so that your back was on the mattress. maul slipped out of his own tunic, casting it to the floor. a flash of admiration passed through you as you placed your hands on his chest, fingertips relishing in the heat that radiated from him. you traced the textured skin, the red and black hues glowing in the moonlight.

your hands wandered to the horns on top of the zabrak's skull, feeling the tough ivory. a groan escaped maul's lips, closing his eyes with pleasure, "tonight is all about you, my love. don't fret about me."

"but i don't want you to feel left out," you pouted.

"don't worry angel," maul pressed a kiss on your collarbone, "i sensed your need for me. as your lover i need to take care of your needs before mine. understood?"

you nodded, your breath stopping momentarily as maul took a nipple in his mouth, his sharp teeth gently tugging. you squirmed underneath him, feeling your pussy drip. maul's tone ignited the spark. now his actions were fueling you with fire. a fire full of want and need. you needed maul to make you cum. 

"i can hear your thoughts love," maul purred, his throat vibrating against your skin, "i'll make you cum. just be patient."

the zabrak's mouth latched onto your other breast, giving it equal attention. he did not hesitate to leave another love bite, this one harsher than the others. his lips roamed your stomach, the kisses becoming needier and needier as they went farther down. maul paused momentarily, his amber eyes raking in the sight of you below him, cheeks tinged crimson, heart thudding in your chest, nerves wired with anticipation. 

"tell me what you want," maul smirked, parting your thighs, "or do i already know the answer?"

"you know," you whispered. 

maul's fingers hooked the waistband of your underwear, sliding them down your legs. he placed two gentle kisses on each inner thigh, before diving into your dripping pussy. maul's tongue was skilled, delving into your inner folds, leaving no area left behind. 

the zabrak worshiped your body in bed, grateful for how you melted under his touch. he adored the way your moans bounced off the wall. the way your thighs shook as his tongue slid deeper into you. 

you squirmed, pleasure washing over you like a wave crashing into shore. the pleasure was overwhelming, but you knew maul wouldn't dare stop till you came undone. his warm palms held you down with an iron grip. maul was enjoying this too much. so were you. 

"maul," you moaned, reaching down and grasping his horns. the action pulled you closer to him, his face buried deeper between your thighs. he hummed, eyes closed, savoring the way you tasted on his tongue. 

maul's tongue circled your clit, sucking gently. he was careful not to be too harsh, as it would more than likely injure you. your hands gripping his horns stimulated his own pleasure, the zabrak desperate for more. his eyes opened, meeting your gaze. 

"i'm going to cum," you threw your head back, gripping the sheets. 

"then cum for me pretty girl," maul encouraged you, his words sweet and enticing, "cum for me."

once more, maul's mouth met with your clit, two of his fingers pumping in and out of you. stars filled your vision, coming undone underneath the zabrak. your thighs shook, your moans filled with an intensity maul had never heard before. he gave your pussy once last lick, before pulling away. your cum dripped from his chin, maul wiping it away. he licked his palm, enjoying your taste one last time. 

"we should probably clean this all up-"

"i'll take care of it," maul rumbled, "stay here."

you collapsed on the bed, chest heaving. you were out of breath, exhaustion flooding over your body. maul returned from the refresher, a warm towel in his hands. his eyes were focused as he pressed the towel on your skin, ensuring he cleaned you up entirely. 

"you've never cum that much before," maul's eyes met yours.

"it's not my fault you're so good at it," you rolled your eyes playfully. 

maul laid beside you, his hands massaging your back, "it was quite the sight. i felt it all in my mouth and-"

"that's enough for one night love," you cut him off, his words promising of another round. 

"mmm if you say so," maul hummed, placing a kiss on your shoulderblade,  "go rest my love, i'll keep massaging your skin."

"i love you," a sleepy smile plastered your face.

"i love you more," maul's tone was gentle as he placed another kiss on your head. 

the zabrak's hands carefully kneaded your skin, soothing sore muscles. you drifted off to sleep, your chest rising and falling steadily. maul admired the way you looked in the moonlight, a warm feeling seeping into his chest. darth maul loved you. more than anything in the universe.

and he would keep loving you. till his last breath.

[somepinkthing]

NHS’s a very flexible character that exists almost entirely in the gray zone. He doesn’t seem to stick to any strong moral code and yet we’re given the impression that he does know where the lines are drawn. And while he’s willing to cross them, he never strays too far. This manages simultaneously make him one of the most ruthless characters AND one of the only characters in the series who’s serious about minimizing death. It also means he’ll accept the consequences, acknowledge how many people he could potentially hurt, and try and minimize it as much as possible BUT he still hides himself at the end of it all.

NHS is perfectly in between. Ambitious and yet not at all. Respectful of life but still willing to lose one or two people to obtain revenge. Consumed by rage but responsible enough to know he couldn’t just go off and do whatever he wanted because of that. He’s presented as someone who will go any length yet all his plans indicate that he has a strong enough understanding of how far is too far. He openly hated his leadership position and showed no interest in sect matters and yet he was very careful to keep his sect and his disciples out of harm’s way the entire time. Genuinely a coward but unrelenting in the face of danger. Has a lofty plan with  no guarantee of satisfaction even if he does succeed but he uses obtainable benchmarks and is flexible to changes. He obviously was capable of loving deeply and unconditionally but we rarely saw him show it from behind his mask. Ruthless but doesn’t take human life lightly. A coward and a hero. Highly emotional yet extremely exact and careful. Emotionally intelligent but oddly distant with most. In him existed almost no heroic traits and yet he kept his wits about him while charging headfirst into a dangerous situation and snatched a decisive victory. His brother’s legacy and his foil–a middle point between NMJ and JGY

I think the question of righteousness versus reality are better defined in NHS than in JGY because of this nature too. JGY, for all that he claimed not to be, was a very emotional man with many delusions of his own. He was a man that legitimately thought all of his actions were reasonable and anyone who listened would agree with him. On the other hand, NHS was simultaneously reaching for the stars with his plans but still managed to keep one foot in reality. He knew what he had to work with, knew when he was doing right and when he was crossing a line, and didn’t delude himself into thinking he could get the world on his side. He remained single-mindedly focused on his revenge for ten years and yet showed that he was aware that he still had a life to live and responsibilities to fulfill afterwards by how he carefully planned it out so that nothing would befall on his sect after it was all said and done. Ultimately, he stopped a maniac, avenged his brother, and ended the story with the least amount of innocent blood on his hands. Did that make his way the right way to do things? Who knows. But laying out the facts, it isn’t like you can really call NHS a villain when put side by side with the rest of the cast. But putting motives and morality into the equation, it’s also not as if you can say he was the hero either.

He knew the risk of sending the disciples to Yi City so he made sure to time it with getting wangxian there. It was one group in one city, a controlled environment. Same with what happened at the Mo estate. NHS tries to control how many people will be put in danger and tries to incorporate ways to get as many people out alive as possible. It didn’t always work out perfectly–for example, jin ling got caught up both in the man-eating castle mystery NHS probably helped set up for wangxian AND at the final showdown (which is honestly hilarious to me like 10 years of planning almost ruined twice because jiang wanyin couldn’t manage to keep his kid on a leash). Also the poison ended up failing to kill JGY so he had to get LXC to do it last minute. But he still tried to minimize the people involved in a way that other characters didn’t really seem to think about until it was too late. Arguably the only innocent blood that was really left on NHS’s hands was Mo Xuanyu’s, and he wasn’t exactly unwilling or coerced--he had an agenda too. I suppose the Mo family were caught in the crossfire but tbh I can’t really bring myself to think that they didn’t have it coming. Everyone else got to go home relatively unharmed in the end. In comparison, how many collateral deaths did JGY cause? WWX? Jiang cheng? Even people like NMJ and LXC both participated in a bloody war and in the first siege of the burial mounds? How many more did they hurt because of their lack of planning and preparation? Preparation that NHS did do? How many lives weren’t lost during this whole ordeal simply because NHS didn’t blindly follow his heart?

That being said, it’s not absolution even if you consider NHS a hero. I don’t doubt NHS knew full well that there was a risk of collateral damage with what he was trying to do. I don’t doubt he very carefully set out what was acceptable risk and what wasn’t. I’m not saying he didn’t do any of that. What I am saying is that other characters who weren’t as calculating ended up hurting far more people partially because they didn’t stop to think about the logistics–what could happen, what was acceptable, what would be gained versus what it could cost. These sound like cold and unpleasant thoughts but we come to realize through the mistakes of other characters that never considering them is wildly irresponsible too. So was it worth it? Was it worse for NHS to have done it this way instead of going all out in a fit of rage? Would carrying out justice the “right way” have been worth the damage it might have done? Which would have been more morally acceptable? I think these are questions he asks himself too, especially after it’s all said and done and he’s able to breath for the first time in year, is able to finally see without the red tint of rage

 NHS is a perfectly gray character. I’m not too sure he even understands all his motives. Half the time it’s emotion, half the time is calculated, most of the time it’s a mix of both. He’s flexible and stubborn. A hero and a minor antagonist. He hurt far less people but his methods are definitely questionable at some points. It’s hard to tell with him probably because he doesn’t even have a good grasp of himself. He came into his own in a fit of rage and grief and probably a fair bit of fear. Like most of the other characters, he had to act fast to survive and never would have had the time to parse through all his feelings

[nightqueendany]

The Original Final Season 7 - Episode 2: Greywater Watch

ON DRAGONSTONE 

The episode opens much the same way it opened in 7x02 (though there is no storm raging outside, no conversation about a storm), with Melisandre arriving and speaking with Dany about Jon Snow 

However, this is now the same meeting where Dany is planning her conquest of Westeros with all her allies - Olenna, Ellaria, and Yara. 

Dany’s allies convince her to listen to Melisandre and summon Jon Snow and hold off battle plans until he arrives - the Riverlands/Vale are in prime position to take Casterly Rock/the Capital so would be better to wait and see what the North can bring to the table

Varys informs Dany and co that Melisandre used to advise Stannis but Olenna reminds everyone that they all once served someone else so it shouldn’t be held against Mel

In private, Olenna and Melisandre warn Dany against Varys, Olenna saying that he is a “clever man” and she’s outlived clever men by ignoring them

Mel echoes these sentiments, reminding Dany that Varys served Robert Baratheon and the Lannisters and tried to have Dany killed several times, etc. 

Dany argues in Varys’ defense, saying he might not be loyal to monarchs but that he’s loyal to the realm and he’s exactly the kind of person the realm needs

Mel and Olenna are skeptical, Mel says that the realm is like a flock, they need a shepherd, not a spider, to keep them together - the shepherd being Dany. Olenna’s advice to Dany is much more blunt. She accuses the Lords of Westeros of being sheep. Is Dany a sheep? No, she’s a dragon. Be a dragon. Mel can’t disagree with that.

On Dany’s orders, Tyrion sends word to Jon about coming to treat with Dany on Dragonstone

IN WINTERFELL 

Arya arrives and reunites with Jon, Sansa, and Bran 

Arya informs Jon of Edmure’s allegiance

After Jon receives Tyrion’s raven about Daenerys, Baelish brings up the possibility of a marriage alliance and, though Jon doesn’t trust Baelish in particular, Davos agrees it may be a good option in order to gain armies, weapons, and dragons in order to fight the Army of the Dead - even with the Riverlands’ allegiance, they still don’t have enough fighting men to take on the AOTD without assistance

Baelish tries to plant ideas into Sansa’s head about Jon and Dany marrying, naming her their heir until they are to have one of their own, meaning if somehow they both die in the wars to come, she would become Queen of the Seven Kingdoms (much like the “if Robert were to die- When Robert dies” from the books), Sansa doesn’t have much to say to this, is more focused on one of Dany’s allies being the Greyjoys

The Hound, noticing Baelish’s scheming and weaselly ways, threatens him to stay away from Sansa (like Jon’s “touch my sister, I’ll kill you myself”)

When Baelish accuses Sandor of being just like him (i.e. wanting Sansa sexually/romantically), Sandor corrects him and says he’s only ever wanted to protect her and Arya and he will do so, even if it kills him

Sometime after his encounter with Sandor, Baelish finagles his way into an invite to accompany Jon and Davos to Dragonstone - it’s more central to all the action, right where Baelish likes to be

IN OLDTOWN 

Sam cures Ser Jorah of his greyscale

AT CASTLE BLACK: 

Edd and the other Black Brothers/few Free Folk who are hanging out there (not Tormund) discuss the Horn Edd found, some of the Free Folk believe it has the power to bring down the Wall, Mance had been trying to find it as opposed to battling the Night’s Watchmen 

Edd orders no one to touch it or go near it

IN KING’S LANDING: 

Cersei, in celebration of her pregnancy, commissions the courtyard ground painted with a map of Westeros, telling Jaime, “our child will rule Westeros, a dynasty that will last 1k years, what father had trained us for since we were children...”

She and Jaime also talk about allies and enemies - Enemies to the East, West, North, and South, Jaime asks “where are our allies?”...

Euron Greyjoy shows up in King’s Landing

Even with the news of the baby, Jaime is still distant with Cersei due to her behavior, constantly whispering to Qyburn, obsessing over news of her “enemies” - smallfolk in the city talking shit about her (like the guy in S6 who claimed he showed her his cock during her Walk of Atonement and got his skull crushed by the Mountain)

Euron tries to get Cersei into bed and though she rebuffs him, she tells Jaime she can’t do so for long, she’ll need to claim he’s the father of her child, further shutting Jaime out

BACK IN THE NORTH: 

As Jon prepares to leave for Dragonstone, Bran finally tells Jon there’s something he needs to know but he’s not the one to tell him, that on his way to Dragonstone, Jon needs to stop by Greywater Watch - Meera will accompany him so she can be reunited with her family

Jon, Davos, Baelish, and Meera arrive at Greywater Watch, Howland Reed finally tells Jon (in private) about R+L=J, Howland gives Jon Rhaegar’s harp, which was in Lyanna’s possession when she died

While Howland is telling Jon about his parents, Bran is at the weirwood attempting to control his visions and get a handle on them, and he flashes back to Rhaegar and Lyanna as Howland tells Jon the story, how they fell in love, their secret marriage, and Jon’s real name, “Aegon Targaryen”

The title is obviously for House Reed’s ancestral seat to mark the first time it’s ever been seen in the show (and in the books for that matter). 

Episode 2 Inside the Episode: Greywater Watch

1) Now, first thing people are probably wondering is: why does Jon find out about RLJ in Episode 2?? Before he meets Daenerys??

And the simple answer is...because it shouldn’t make a difference for him to hear about it later in the season. Remember, this is the FINAL season. So there’s no cliffhanger to leave us on. This is it. Jon’s no longer heading for an “information bomb” in Season 8 because there is no Season 8. And, we all know the aunt/nephew incest won’t matter in the books - as avunculate marriages have been established in House Stark - so it shouldn’t matter in the show.

Plus, Jon knowing who he is as he’s falling for Dany will create a nice tension there because he hates lying, and holding back the truth from her will be difficult once he’s already in love with her. It will be a good conflict for Jon for the season - tell Dany the truth, or keep it to himself?

2) Baelish heading to Dragonstone with Jon:

Probably the most basic no-brainer in the entire season. That Baelish stayed with Sansa in the North in S7 was really idiotic. Baelish never stays in one place too long, even if it’s to be near Sansa. He dropped her off at Winterfell once before, with the Boltons, and headed back south because it benefitted him most. Baelish staying in Winterfell in S7 makes no sense because it doesn’t benefit him. 

Baelish’s Season 7 Winterfell plot did nothing to further his ambition and designs on the Iron Throne. Baelish heading to Dragonstone with Jon would. If he can get Jon and Dany to marry, knock off Cersei, and name Sansa their heir before dying *somehow* in the War for the Dawn...his job is essentially done, he just needs to persuade Sansa to marry him after, which as he would have helped name her Queen, shouldn’t be too hard to do.

3) Mel’s meeting with Dany on Dragonstone...

Melisandre coming in during Dany’s meeting with Olenna, Ellaria, and Yara and Theon makes so much sense. If she were to speak before Dany’s whole council and convince everyone of summoning Jon, it would fulfill the idea that D&D tried to pass off in 7x02 as a “feminist” moment with all these powerful women strategizing and making decisions. You know, as opposed to the scene we actually got where the women just went along with what Tyrion planned and had no say in battle strategy at all which was so fucking dumb. 

Also, many on Dany’s council know the Starks and would be better at convincing Dany to seek an alliance with Jon than just Mel (whom Dany doesn’t know) and Tyrion, who hasn’t seen either Jon or Sansa in years. Theon and Olenna could vouch for Jon and Sansa, adding their voices of support for this alliance. Also, Ellaria Sand, a fellow bastard, may be impressed with Jon being named King, admire that the North has taken a page out of Dorne’s book to throw out this prejudice against bastards and named someone King who they actually believed in, which would jibe with Dany’s approach of judging people on their merits rather than names, titles, and status. 

Basically, everyone in Dany’s council would get on the Jonerys train, as they should.

4) Not necessarily mentioned in the outline of the episode above but wanted to address this, The War for the Iron Throne:

Now, obviously this new strategy nixes several battles from Season 7 and you guys are probably wondering why. 

Well, if we think about the structure of prior seasons, big set piece battles, like the Greyjoys vs Greyjoys of 7x02, the sack of Casterly Rock of 7x03, and the Field of Fire of 7x04, are really uncommon in early episodes. We usually get ONE battle per season and that’s the “Episode 9” battle. So to have a season filled with battles is 1) not the GOT norm and 2) really unnecessary. Dany has been all about strategizing in the past, waiting for people to come to her, sitting and waiting to persuade people to her side, connecting with the people first before the high lords. That’s her MO. Going in guns blazing is not Dany’s way.

Yes, Dany’s allies sided with her because of the promise of Fire and Blood. And they’ll get it. But they are also the kind of allies to wait. Olenna plotting Joffrey’s murder to get Margaery a better husband that again, she’d have to wait for. Yara and Theon going all the way to Meereen to get Dany on their side. Ellaria waiting to align with Olenna and Dany before going to war with Cersei. Dany is patient and so are her allies. They understand the importance of well planned revenge. Waiting for Jon and seeing what he can bring to the table is much more on par with what we’ve seen from all of them the last few seasons.

5) And lastly, Howland Reed

Many of us predicted we would see Howland Reed this season (Season 8) and we were obviously wrong. Now, some people may think Howland Reed showing up in the story is unrealistic, but in my opinion, Season 6 set this up for us already. Rather than not name any of Ned’s companions at the Tower of Joy (which they could have done), the show specifically points out Howland, and mentions that he’s Jojen and Meera’s father. Why would we be shown Howland, and have it implied that he’s the only other living soul (without psychic powers like Bran) who knows who Jon really is, and then NEVER do anything with that information?

To me, this was such a bullshit move on the show’s part. I mean, there are a lot of those. But we were owed a Howland Reed scene. We needed to see him in the series. We even got Meera in S7 saying she needed to go be with her family and then we never saw the Reeds in S8 - did they pull a Cersei and sit out the War for the Dawn as well??? I mean, it just makes no sense. There was set up for this and no pay-off. 

So having Jon learn from Howland - who actually has a personal and first hand connection to this information - tell Jon the truth about who he is rather than Sam - who had no personal connection to this info - finally pays off what was set up in Season 6 and gives Jon and the audience this information in a much more satisfying way. 

Aaand that’s it for Episode 2!

Original Final Season 7: Preface Post

Season 7 Episode 1: Family, Duty, Honor

Season 7 Episode 2: Greywater Watch (Current episode)

Season 7 Episode 3: The Last of the Dragons

Season 7 Episode 4: Dragonglass

Season 7 Episode 5: The Storm

Season 7 Episode 6: Summerhall 

Season 7 Episode 7: A City Fit For A King

Season 7 Episode 8: Protectors of the Realm

Season 7 Episode 9: The Battle For The Dawn

Season 7 Episode 10: ?

Keep an eye out next Tuesday for Episode 3!

[celinamarniss]

Trivia Tuesday:

these are the days of miracle and wonder 

This one got a little long, but there's a lot going on in this story. 

I hate weddings. I attended my sister's wedding shortly after I wrote this fic, and didn't enjoy it very much. But even I can't resist the drama or fun of a fictional wedding. There's so much potential for shenanigans! All the things that I find unpleasant about weddings in real life—the heightened emotions and intense stress—make for great drama. 

I'm not interested in any of Jaina's male love interests from the books, and I wanted to pair Jaina off with a lady. There should be more queer ships in star wars! I love the idea of lesbian or bisexual Jaina and I feel a little guilty that I don't write more queer pairings. The star wars ships that I love the most are het ships and focusing on those ships doesn't give me much room to explore the characters' queerness (even if I do headcanon some queerness into those ships—all of the Skywalkers are bisexual disasters who end up married to bisexual disasters is where I stand on this issue).

The problem was that I wasn't familiar enough with Jaina to know which lady she should end up with. I asked frangi for ideas, and she suggested Mirta. I loved the idea, because what would be more awkward and hilarious than Jaina marrying Boba Fett's granddaughter?

...but that meant I had to write Boba Fett into my story. I hate that guy! He's the worst! He's this flat action figure that's cast a long shadow over the star wars franchise, and when you get to know him a little better as a character, he's awful. 

You know who else is the worst? Kathy. Tyers. Fuck her! Unfortunately, for me, Mirta's her OC. I read the Mirta sections of LotF and ended up using a lot of details from LotF: Bloodlines for Mirta's backstory. The events of LotF don't happen in this EU, however. Mirta's mother and grandmother are dead, but she and Jaina don't meet during a revenge quest to kill Jacen. I don't know how they met. Maybe they met in a club.

Boba obviously has a normal human lifespan in this fic. I'm not sure how that happened either. 

Lots of extremely self-indulgent cameos from various members of the extended Skywalker/Solo clan in this fic. And a very tiny Rebels nod. 

I lot of things in this fic are drawn directly from my childhood. I grew up in a small community like this one, having the run of the houses of lots of uncles and aunties that weren't actually related to me by blood. (Omi should probably be using "auntie," but I just couldn't bring myself to write "auntie Mara," so everyone's an aunt). I was definitely the kid who say nearby to listen as the adults talked on the porch for hours. 

Graceland is one of those albums that played in the background of my childhood, and remains dear to my heart. I just really wanted to title a story based on The Boy in the Bubble. Elements of the song began to weave into the story. “The way the camera follows us in slo-mo” became the paparazzi cameras that follow Jaina and Mirta. While Omi's world is filled with “miracle and wonder,” the melancholy and paranoia of the song is closer to Boba's perspective of the world passing him by.  

There's a part of me that wants to write a story about Jacen and Tanel Ka's over the top Hapan wedding. I'll never have the time to do it justice. 

I had a lot of fun writing overlapping conversations in this fic. I also loved making up outrageous stories about Mandalorians. 

I really annoyed me to discover that every single "official" illustration of Mirta directly contradicts her description in the books, and ignores her mixed-rage heritage. (Most "official" illustrations of Tenel Ka hide the fact that she's disabled, too!)

I ended up treating Boba Fett with a lot more kindness than I expected in this fic, because that's what the Skywalkers would do. 

The idea that Mara runs an infamous research methodology class was frangi's. 

“There’s always something that doesn’t go according to plan during a wedding,” Aunt Mara said. “Sometimes more than one thing.” ALWAYS. Have I mentioned I hate weddings? hate them. 

Mara and Han as bros is one of my favorite dynamics to write, and this story is a bit of a companion/finale to the Drinking Buddies series. 

I reread through the fic as I wrote this list, and I STILL found mistakes to correct. Ugh. I fixed them, but ugh. 

I also changed the tiny detail that Boba calls himself a “Jedi killer.” The Jedi killer stuff is from Tyers, I think. I don't think Fett kills any Jedi in canon, does he? Most of them died when he was still a kid! Now he just calls himself a bounty hunter.

There's a longer, slightly more detailed detailed discussion on Tyers in the comments on ao3. 

I discuss the other two stories in this series here and here.