#a character directly affected by trusting this guy who ruined her life

[witchkittymeow]

I have a lot of feelings about Roy Mustang, theyre not good ones

[noaltbruh]

BUCCI GANG AND HOW THEY WOULD PLAY UNDERTALE

Since I got my friend into the UT fandom, and the brainrot for this game is slowly coming back, I've figured that I'd fuse my favourite franchises and make this post, enjoy!

GIORNO:

-This may surprise you, but Giorno would almost do a Blind Pacifist run

-While at first, he was planning on taking out whoever got in his way, he changed his mind in the moment he saw Toriel

-After she taught him how to resolve the various conflicts peacefully, he decided not to fight, but to show MERCY to every monster

-He finds the multiplicity of choices a very interesting mechanism, especially since he's not much of a gamer, and he's pleasantly surprised to see such an innovative game

-While most of the times he would completely avoid the FIGHT button, if a monster got on his nerves a little too much, he may attack it until it doesn't want to fight anymore

-He takes the time to interact with everything and everyone, he wants to enjoy the game at its fullest

-He was so freaking lucky to meet Gaster on his first run

-Actually brought the piece of snowman with him

-He's part of the "Chara defense squad", and finds them strangely...relatable

-He was just about to do a full Pacifist route, but he couldn't bring himself to SPARE Flowey, and killed him

-"I won't let you hurt her"

-Ultimately, he regretted it, and reset his save file

-After doing a TRUE Pacifist, he left the game, leaving the monsters alone and giving them an happy ending

-Only knows about the Genocide through gameplays

-Favourite character: Toriel, but also likes Chara quite a lot

-Favourite OST: Memories, followed by home, Undertale, Megalo strikes back and Star (he doesn't care if they actually don't play in the game)

-What SOUL would he have: DETERMINATION

BRUNO:

-My man wouldn't hurt a fly if he had the chance to, off to the Pacifist route he goes

-Similar to Giorno, he finds Toriel a very comforting character, but he feels bad for pretty much every monster he meets. He thinks it's unfair for them to be forced to stay in the UNDERGROUND, and wants to find a way to destroy the barrier at any cost

-He's never played a videogame before, but he gets the hand of it quite quickly, even though he still ends up dying a couple of times.

-He would also be the kind of player to interact with EVERYTHING, paying close attention to whatever the passing monster has to say

-Sometimes, he likes to take a break, lay down and listen to the OST of the place he's exploring

-The most challenging enemies for him were Undyne and Asgore. It took him a while to realize that the only way to spare her was to run away, and he just really didn't want to hurt Goat papa

-He lets the bird carrying him to the other side, even if he doesn't actually need to move around. He just wants the little guy to feel appreciated

-Veeeery reluctantly, he decided to SPARE Flowey, it would have been a waste to kill somebody now, after everything that he had done so far

-He almost cried at the Pacifist ending

-He refuses to even acknowledge what happened in the Genocide route

-Favourite characters: Toriel and Asgore

-Favourite OST: Fallen down, but he also likes Heartache, Home and Waterfall

-What SOUL would he have: KINDNESS

MISTA:

-Mista's first run would be a Neutral. It's not that he enjoys killing the monsters, he's mostly just too lazy to think of a way to spare them

-If it's obvious, however, he'll just casually show the enemy MERCY, there's no need to take out absolutely everyone

-The only one who he genuinely looked for a way to spare was Papyrus. Honestly, he couldn't bring himself to just hurt him 'cause he had the chance to. Besides...He was afraid of what Sans would have done

-Speaking of him, he finds his jokes HILARIOUS, and he will use them in real life conversations if he gets the chance to

-He basically wasted all his money fighting Undyne

-He didn't buy the spider donut in the RUINS, and was forced to farm gold for 3 entire freaking days and buy one directly from Muffet

-After finishing the neutral route, he decided to go back and try the others. His next route was a Genocide

-He was about to shoot his computer AND himself while fighting Sans, but he eventually managed to beat him. Of course, after swearing at 3 A. M., drinking 10 cans of Sprite, listening to Megalovania on loop and threatening to throw Narancia out of the window because he interrupted him while he was playing

-His favourite moment during the Pacifist was cooking with Undyne

-He immediately questioned his life choices when he finished the route and saw Chara taking over Frisk's body. Closed the game and never opened it again

-Favourite characters: Papyrus, Sans and Undyne. He refuses to choose an absolute favorite

-Favourite OSTs: Megalovania and Song that might play when you fight Sans. He also likes Bonetroulse and Spear of justice

-What SOUL would he have: BRAVERY

NARANCIA:

-Narancia playing this game would be a total mess. Ironic, considering he's the one in the gang that likes video games the most

-Despite Toriel's guidance, at first, he would FIGHT every monster that got in his way, following the simple "It's an rpg, the more I kill, the better it is" logic

-When he saw the "but nobody came" screen, however, he freaked the hell out and immediately reset

-After that mini heart attack, he went on a full Pacifist route. However, sometimes, he would snap and accidentally kill a monster. He lost count of how many times he had to reload the file

-He also really likes Toriel (she's just very popular among the Bucci gang). The reason for it...Is not a very happy one, like in Giorno's case

-He genuinely tried to stay with her, he didn't want to leave Goat mom

-He's the one who gets emotionally invested in the game the most, he even forgets it's a game at times and just erase the surrounding world from his head

-He LOVES to voice the characters while he plays, it makes the story feel way more alive for him. He makes a very good Papyrus impression

-Speaking of which, his favourite parts of the game were the interactions between Sans and Papyrus.

-He lost his s**t when he arrived at the Temmie village. He stayed there FOR HOURS farming money. Heck, he even bought the Temmie armor

-He refused to open the game for two days after Flowey stole the SOULS

-He wanted to ask someone to play the TRUE lab with him, but he refused to admit that he was scared

-While he's not the kind of player who stops by to read every dialogue, he makes an exception for Snowdin. He really likes that area of the game!

-While he would never admit it, he cried three times during the Pacifist route. The first time when he left Toriel, the second when he heard Chara and Asriel's story, and the third when he finished it

-His favourite fight in the game is the one against Asriel. He kept on repeating the "Don't you have anything better to do" dialogue for 20 minutes, before giving up to the idea that there was really no way to save him

-After giving the monster an happy ending, he was overwhelmed by his own curiosity, and decided to try the Genocide route...Boy did it go wrong

-You thought he cried a lot during the Pacifist? He became a freaking fountain during the Genocide. Every single time he killed a Boss, he cried, with no exception

-He spent days trying to defeat Sans, until he was given the option to SPARE him, and so he did

-...The others could hear him yelling from the other floor after what happened next

-He got tired of Sans' bulls**ts, reset and did a Pacifist again

-He watched a gameplay to know what happened in the Genocide ending. Chara's jumpscare still haunts him

-Narancia gets really involved in the stuff made by the fandom, especially fan made songs and comics

-He listens to "To the bone" religiously, it's part of his routine

-He tried and failed to figure out how AUs work

-Favourite character: Papyrus, followed by Toriel and Asriel. He used to like Sans a lot too...But now he gets Vietnam flashbacks every time he thinks about him

-Favourite OSTs: Bonetroulse, Hopes and dreams and Snowdin. He can't choose between them

-What SOUL would he have: INTEGRITY

FUGO:

-Fugo would categorically refuse to reset on his first run. What it's done, it's done, and he has to take responsibilities for his choices

-He would do a Neutral, killing whoever he encounters, but without specifically looking for the monsters just so that he can kill them

-That doesn't mean, however, that he dislikes to play with the timeline. It's quite the opposite, to be honest

-Fugo enjoys messing around with the save files A LITTLE too much, dude basically became an hacker playing this game

-In his attempt to make a Pacifist run, he fu**ed up and accidentally got the Hacker ending

-"...THIS IS NOT WHAT I MEANT WHEN I SAID I WANTED EVERY ENDING"

-He toned it down a little after that, but he still managed to modify the FUN value enough to meet Gaster and his followers

-He's also the only one who unlocked Sans' room. He doesn't trust him, but he finds him an interesting character

-Neither the Pacifist or Genocide endings particularly picked his interest, even though he did punch the walls a couple of times fighting Sans

-He likes to try the different Neutral endings, he doesn't do all of them, just the ones he thinks that would affect the monsters the most

-The only character he got attached to emotionally was Alphys, he can see himself a lot in her

-He's very interested in the various theories that surround this game, and he's waiting for Deltarune to come out, he just wants to know more about Gaster

-Favourite character: Alphys, but Gaster is a close second

-Favourite OST: Darker, darker, yet darker, followed by Here we are, Waterfall and Premonition

What SOUL would he have: faded BRAVERY

ABBACCHIO:

-MERCY? Is that a food? Yeah uhm...No, that doesn't exist with Abbacchio, nothing but Genocide for him

-It's already a surprise someone convinced him to play this game. He'll play in his own way, and that means killing literally everyone, not simply the ones he encounters, but even looking for them just to earn more Exp

-He was...Weirdly satisfied when he saw the "But nobody came" screen, and he was lucky enough to find every monster almost immediately

-He hadn't found a single character that he liked until he reached Undyne. Her sense of justice reminded him of his old self, which wasn't exactly pleasant at first, but at least he felt something

-He was finally happy to see a monster actually trying to stop what he was doing, and killing her was the only thing in the game that made him slightly sad

-He's still offended for not having the chance to kill monster kid, he couldn't stand that child

-He skipped through pretty much every dialogue in the game, not that there are many people to interact with during the Genocide...

-He'd eat a piece of the snowman right in front of him just to spite him, then take the rest and leave

-He didn't care about whatever Flowey was trying to tell him about his past. That's also because without knowing he's Asriel, most of what he says doesn't really make sense

-In the moment Sans dodged his attack, he realized that he had screwed up REALLY bad. After dying against him a couple of times, he considered resetting, but he wouldn't have let "the lazy skelefu**" have it his way

-He let out a huge "YES" and a sigh of relief when he finally managed to hit him, it took him around a week

-However, little did he know, that the worst still had to come. When he noticed that he wasn't the one who had just killed Asgore and Flowey, he freaked out a little, and Chara staring directly at him made him feel a small shiver down his spine

-Still, he decided to decline their offer to destroy everything, not because he regretted what he had done, he just wanted his revenge on the child for scaring him

-He closed the game after the jumpscare, and never questioned what the hell he had been through

-Favourite character: Undyne

-Favourite OSTs: But nobody came and Battle against a true hero, he also likes The fallen child

-What SOUL would he have: very very faded JUSTICE

TRISH:

-Trish got into this game just because of its music, she kept on hearing it everywhere and wanted to understand where it came from

-She was kinda scared at first, videogames aren't exactly her forte, and her encounter with Flowey didn't help

-She slowly got used to the dynamics of the game, even though she died at least three times in every area, exept for the RUINS. (She only got a game over two times there)

-She doesn't have the heart to hurt anybody, she thinks the monsters (well...Most of them, at least) are adorable! Shyren is her favourite minor enemy, and when she saw the "Taking piano lessons again" text, her heart melted a little

-She refused to take off the faded ribbon until she found she tutu, but she never sold either of them

-She loves flirting with literally ANYONE. You can? Well then...You must!

-Her favourite area is Hotland, including the Core too. She loves the whole "artificial" theme of the place, and she had a lot of fun reading Alphys's posts!

-She would pretend to be an actual part of Mettaton's programmes, but only when she was 100% sure nobody could hear her

-Needless to say, the boss fight against him was one of the funniest parts of the story for her

-Another thing she absolutely adored were the dates with Papyrus and Alphys, especially the latter. After everything that had happened, it was a nice opportunity to relax for a bit

-Similar to Narancia, Trish gets really involved emotionally in playing the game, and she had to take a little break from it before facing Asgore

-The ending genuinely made her cry, but it was the only time she shed a tear through it

-She doesn't care about trying the Genocide, she's worked hard to give the monsters an happy ending, and she wasn't going to throw it away

-She's in love with the Undertale Musical by Man on the Internet, she knows pretty much every song by memory

-Favourite character: Mettaton, but she honestly really likes all of them

-Favourite OST: Death by glamour, followed by Metal crusher, Power of NEO, and Another medium

-What SOUL would she have: INTEGRITY

Yes, I know that Narancia's part is longer, but it's just so funny to write about this baby, bear with me please 😌

[greatqueenanna]

Why Kristoff is a great partner and character.

There are many great male characters in the Disney canon. The Valiant, Pungent, Reindeer King Kristoff Bjogrman, stands among them as one of the best. Kristoff has something special about him that I feel goes unnoticed by many people, simply because Kristoff is a tri-tagonist in the Frozen Franchise. However, I’m here to tell you that there are things about Kristoff that truly make him shine regardless of his smaller role in the overall story. The franchise was never focused on romantic love, but within Kristoff we see a character that exemplifies what a good romantic partner should be like.

Another long one guys, so under the read more we go!

I’ve seen a few posts try and say that Kristoff’s relationship with Anna is unhealthy. However, I want to offer some viewpoints on why I feel this in not the case. According to the Hall Health Center, A healthy relationship is when two people develop a connection based on:

Mutual Respect/Honesty

Playfulness/Fondness

Trust/Support

Separate Identities

Good Communication

Kristoff is able to show all of this to Anna; while not all at once and at the very moment they meet, he does develop these skills and qualities as his and Anna’s relationship flourishes. It is also stated that all of these things take work, and is not something that just happens immediately, and that is ok. Most of these qualities Kristoff is able to show when we first meet him as adult, while others he develops over time with trial and error. As with Anna and Elsa, Kristoff is not perfect, and needed to learn certain lessons to become a better version of himself.

Mutual Respect/Honesty

It is no secret that Kristoff respects Anna’s boundaries and decisions. While he may not agree with some of them, and is vocal about it, he still doesn’t try to force his views or needs. It is always good to be honest with someone, but to not force their hand or treat them like a child. For example -

During Frozen, Kristoff is very vocal about Anna’s decision to marry Hans. He tells her that, honestly, it is a reckless decision. However, he never tries to force her to break up with or change her mind. He just very clearly states his opinion, but never steps over that boundary to try and make decisions for her. This behavior is shown throughout the film, as Kristoff is able to be honest with her on her decisions, but never tries to stop her or force her hand. The only time he directly tries to stop her, is when Anna is getting ready to throw a snowball at Marshmallow, because it directly affects her safety.

Also during Frozen, Kristoff respects Anna’s boundaries by asking Anna for her consent before kissing. He doesn’t force her into a surprise kiss, he asks her first if they could. This shows how Kristoff respects her bodily autonomy, and recognizes her possible trauma from Hans.

In Frozen 2, Kristoff again shows how he respects her decisions.

“You had to go, and of course its always fine.”

In Lost in the Woods, while Kristoff is having a harder time in this film being honest about his feelings (at first) Kristoff reiterates that he always respects Anna’s choices, never trying to force her to think one way or guilt her.

Playfulness/Fondness

Kristoff adores Anna. That, is obvious. He’s playful with her all throughout Frozen, teasing her without out right insulting her. We also know exactly how he feels about Anna as he expresses his love for her in Frozen 2. He finds Anna -

“Incredible”

“Feisty”

“Brave”

He also mentions how she’s his ‘ginger sweetheart’, suggesting that he likes her hair color (in other words, he finds her beautiful).

Also in Frozen 2, we can clearly see that Kristoff and Anna have a loving,  physical relationship. This is a bit of a wacky point to mention considering that this is a children’s film, but the implications are there so I will talk about it. Anna and Kristoff kiss multiple times with both parties being comfortable, and Anna is ready to have a make out session when Elsa and Olaf fall asleep in the sled. This shows how the two of them have enough fondness of one another to be able to be physical.

Trust/Support 

This is a big one, and one of Kristoff’s best qualities. Not only does he support her, as mentioned in the respect section, he shows how he is able to trust her decisions, openly asking her what she needs to do when he rescues her from the rock giants.

“I’m here, what do you need?”

“To get the the dam.”

“You got it!”

Kristoff doesn’t ask her why, he just trusts her judgment. This is clear development from the first film, when he didn’t trust her judgment based on her choice to marry Hans. Then, he gladly helps her up the cliff without a fuss or undermining her strength.

“Help me up.”

“We’ll meet you on the other side.”

His trust for her also grows when he is finally able to come to terms with how he feels. In fact, the scene above demonstrates how when Kristoff finally reflects on his emotions, he is able to be more confident with their relationship and have more trust that Anna knows what she’s doing. 

Kristoff also spends both films and short films giving Anna support. In Frozen, while he at first only cares about Anna’s promise to give him a new sled, he starts to show genuine concern for her. He offers to help her down when she (barely) climbs the mountain, runs to her side when she collapses from Elsa’s blast, and tries to keep her warm when carrying her down to Arendelle. Even in Frozen 2, when he’s unsure about the status of their relationship, he still comes to her aide and helps her during the fire attack, and of course comes rushing to help her with the rock giants. In Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, he sees Anna down and wants to cheer her up, and helps Elsa in Frozen Fever throw a party for her, using every inch of his strength to make sure it doesn't get ruined.

Separate Identities 

Kristoff is not dependent on Anna. While he loves her and wants to be there for her, he has a separate identity and is able to support himself.  He has a life outside of Anna, including his friendship with Sven, his troll family, and his ice business. He is able to leave Anna’s side, for example in Frozen Fever to drop off the Snowgies, and in Forest of Shadows he leaves to talk to the Trolls.

His self esteem is also not dependent on Anna. He openly wears what he wants, proclaiming that he only dress nice for Anna for as long as he’s comfortable, does strange things like talking to Sven, licking a strange sculpture in Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, compliments his stew in the same film even though Elsa and Anna are visibly disgusted, and never takes Anna’s insults in Frozen to heart.

“Nobody wants to be alone. Except maybe you.”

“(Laughs) I’m not alone.”

He states the last comment without any indication that he is being defensive or is offended by the statement. In fact, it doesn't faze him at all. His worries in Frozen 2 about Anna’s feelings are not about his self-esteem, but rather losing her as a partner. Let me better explain this. Kristoff mentality is not this -

“Anna is the only one who will consider me and if I lose her, I will have no one else. I am nothing without her. ”

It is this -

“Anna has become an important part of my life because of how amazing she is, and I don’t want to lose her.”

Yes, he does claim in Lost in the Woods how -

“Who am I, if I’m not your guy?

Where am I, if we’re not together forever?”

But I firmly believe that this has to do with him letting his fear take over, not so much how he actually feels, which I’ll explain more in a bit. Thus, Kristoff is not scared of losing his relationship with Anna because she makes him feel good about himself, he’s afraid of losing her because he genuinely loves having her around in his life. He loves her as a separate person, not as a crutch.

Good Communication 

This is the tricky one, because Kristoff has to develop this skill from trial and error. He doesn't have it already set, however it mostly affects his romantic life. He can pretty much say whatever he wants and what is on his mind to everyone else, and even to Anna before he realizes he loves her.

However, we clearly see that in Frozen 2, Kristoff is having a hard time expressing his desires to Anna. He wants to marry her, he wants to start a family. But what if Anna doesn’t want that? What if they are actually growing apart?

I care about her, but does she care about me?

Because of this fear, he is over explaining and fumbling over his words. Even so much as letting it affect his self-esteem, which he didn’t have a problem with before. As I mentioned many times in other posts, fear is a reoccurring villain in the Frozen Franchise, and it has reared its ugly face in Kristoff’s development as well.

His fear is making him hesitant, clumsy and question his self worth. Even though this really has nothing to do with any sort of dependence on Anna, he is letting his fear make him believe that he needs her to a desperate degree. In fact, he showed in the beginning of the film that he was much more calm about their relationship and had no doubts. It wasn’t until Anna started to focus more on Elsa that he started to grow this irrational fear. It didn’t happen in full blast until he thought Anna left him permanently.

However, after expressing these negative feelings out loud, and not letting them bottle up inside, he was able to see the flaw in his thinking as evident later on. After assisting Anna, he explains that he understands how she felt, and that it didn’t have anything to do with him. As Anna was strong enough to push forward even after losing everything, Kristoff was strong enough to able to put his feelings of self-doubt aside and find the confidence he lost.

“I know, I know, it’s ok. My love is not fragile.”

In just a few words, Kristoff expresses how his love was stronger than his fear, realizing what he already knew: that he is good enough, that him and Anna were fine, and that he was over reacting based on a fragile fear. Then, of course, he is able to tell Anna how he feels without doubt, finally asking her to marry him.

Thus, we know that Kristoff follows the traits of what makes a healthy relationship to a tee. Even though he didn’t have every quality at first, he developed them over time. As every character is flawed in Frozen, and need to make the bad choices first in order to learn, Kristoff needed to experience the same thing to be the best version of himself that he was always capable of. 

[tsrookie]

Hey everyone. There’s something I really wanna get off my chest about the whole Poppy controversy. I thought about staying silent, but I really can’t do that anymore. Before I rant, let me make one thing clear: Whatever I’m about to say has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO with the fact that Poppy has an Asian heritage OR anything related to her sexuality.

I used to be a supporter of #MakePoppyaLi2020 because I truly felt that she could have an amazing enemies to lovers storyline. But the latest chapter has completely changed my view of her.

First off, she didn’t give a damn about MC being HARASSED and STALKED. She instead made it seem like a JOKE by calling Benji her boyfriend. That was completely not okay. She could’ve just stayed silent on the whole thing instead of trying to bring MC further down when she had already been through a traumatic ordeal.

And second, she accused MC of FAKING THE WHOLE THING FOR ATTENTION. Now this may not seem like a major issue for y’all Poppy stans, but let me tell you something: that kind of shit could mentally scar a person for life.

I would like to mention that I am 100% not making any of the things I am about to say. There’s this person I know who went through absolute crap. Her friends treated her like she didn’t even exist when they in fact, meant the whole world to her. She used to cry almost EVERY. SINGLE. DAY since she was seriously not okay since well, no one likes to be in a toxic relationship. But then when it finally ended, she was labelled as an attention seeker for all her breakdowns. None of them knew how much it affected her.

She spent MONTHS. I repeat, MONTHS crying herself to sleep. She couldn’t trust anyone, since she felt that they would look at her with pity and not true concern. So, no matter whatever crap happened to her, she kept it to herself. And that took a major toll on her mental health. She had even considered suicide at a point since well, what was the point of opening up about your trauma when people were going to think it was all fake anyways. Somehow, she regained her will to live, but she isn’t completely okay even now.

She told me all this stuff just a few weeks ago and now, I feel like crap for not being able to help her in any way.

Now, coming back to QB. I feel like people are just making excuses for Poppy. Like, I never judge anyone based on their choice of Ll. Like, you hate my favourite Ll, I’m okay with it. I won’t judge you for that unless and until you directly insult me for liking that character.

But when it comes to Poppy stans, I honestly don’t know HOW you guys could accept a redemption arc for her after this. I’m not saying MC is a saint. Yes, she has done some terrible things. Like, snooping into Poppy’s personal life was not okay. I always chose to take the good girl route so I didn’t spill about her mom’s affair. But it was still not okay to snoop like that. But Poppy... what she has done is honestly irredeemable. I don’t think you guys understand just how deeply shit like what she pulled could affect a person. And don’t pull the whole “It’s just a fictional character” crap with me. When it comes to other issues, we all take a proper stand. But with Poppy, y’all just make crappy excuses saying that she can be redeemed and that everyone has shades of gray. That’s just pathetic. Mental health is a serious issue, and still liking Poppy after she pulled that shit... I honestly dunno what to say to you guys.

I’m definitely pissed at PB for ruining a potentially amazing Ll, but she is what she is now. Don’t make excuses for that Poppy stans. Just... don’t. I never wanted to make an actual post on this cause I know how much of backlash you get on Tumblr for practically anything. But this time, I really couldn’t care less about whatever hate I get for this, cause you guys need to seriously think about your decisions. I’ve seen a life almost get ruined in front of my eyes because of bullies like these, and I’m not gonna stay shut about it. So if you stan Poppy and are friends with me, let’s please break the friendship cause I honestly don’t want people who support terrible humans like her. Just please please please ffs think about it.

P.S: I know I was harsh, but I really needed to get all of this out of my mind. So if you’re offended, I don’t care.

.

[kob131]

“Rhodes deserved to die! He was a Huntsmen and yet he never took her away from her abusive household!”

That’s kidnapping. And no, this is not a case of morality, it’s practicality. If he kidnapped Cinder, he’d either A. Just get himself arrested for a crime and Cinder sent home or B. Be on the run with her for her whole life. Either way, he’d change nothing that.

All of this IGNORING that there’s never a scene where Cinder tells Rhodes the full extent of what is going on AND there’s never a scene of him seeing the abuse in full (the most he’s seen is a glare for dropping things.)

“Either call the cops for OBVIOUS abuse-”

Not only is it NOT obvious (the shocks all take place in personal locations and the collar looks like a normal necklace)- My mother is a social worker and considering what I’ve heard: the conditions for them are so bad that most wouldn’t care.

“-or just take her and leave!”

*looks up at option B*

“Cinder was desperate for food and then got shocked for getting it!”

Do you...just not understand the difference between audience perspective and character perspective?

“He could have saved her at any time-”

How? He has no idea what evidence he could present and the worst thing he could say is ‘I saw her getting glared at for dropping things officer.’ And if that failed, guess whose gonna make sure he can’t get near Cinder ever again?  Maybe the lady who could reject his ass at any time?

“-but he instead trains her and gives her hope whenever he returns instead of running away!”

... If Cinder could run, why WOULDN’T she? Where would she even go? She’d starve on the streets or die from the cold.

Also remember this, this is gonna be relevant later.

“He gave her training and tools to leave then expected her to WAIT?”

He probably trusted her to not do the terrible thing he DIRECTLY SAID would do nothing.

“Then when she snaps, he DARES to try and bring her in?!”

... Yes. Because she killed them in a room away from others and NO ONE knew of the full extent of her abuse- It looks like she just killed innocent people. He directly warned her that killing them would solve nothing.

“Rhodes deserved to die.”

For not being psychic?

“He let child abuse and literal enslavement go in a hotel he went to but drew the line at killing her abusers.”

More like ‘he’s following the damn law and knows nothing about what she actually went through.’

‘What a fool. He has less of a heart than Ironwood-’

That doesn’t mean much since Ironwood is on par with fucking Ozpin and RUby in terms of empathy- he just chooses to ignore that.

The guy, by YOUR OWN ADMISSION, tried to help her and give her a proper way out that wouldn’t ruin her life. How does that work if he doesn’t have a heart?

“Killing your abusers isn’t evil-”

So isn’t defending yourself from racial supremacists who are trying to kill you. You still shouldn’t be KILLING people FOR YOUR OWN SAKE. That shit affects people no matter what. And it’s still ILLEGAL for good reason (we can’t just have vigilante justice).

Yeah, Cinder was in a shit situation. But for herself, she shouldn’t have done that.

[paperclipninja]

Younger post-ep ramble 7x01

I joked in my finale ramble at the end of season 6 that the episode was called ‘Forever’ because that’s how long it would feel between seasons...well joke's on me because now, after 587 days, we are FINALLY here. The Younger drought has been a tough one, but we have been generously compensated by getting the first four episodes all at once, which is both exciting and also, turns out, incredibly overwhelming. As usual the thoughts and feelings are many, mostly feelings (read: I am NOT ok) but let’s start off with a delve into the premiere episode, ‘A Decent Proposal’.

The episode picks up within minutes of where the season 6 finale left off, with Diana and Enzo not wasting any time to hot foot it out of their wedding reception and into their happily ever after (Arrivederci bitches!). Of course I’m very happy for Diana and her happiness but there’s only one couple’s happiness that I am on tenterhooks about now that Diva is sorted and that is Charles and Liza, as they watch their sprinklers fizzle out in some sort of awkward, symbolic, anti-climax. 

You may recall that mere moments earlier, Charles had popped the question on the dancefloor before the two were separated by an obligatory conga line, and Charles quickly assumes that Liza’s lack of enthusiasm to shout her answer across the reception of another person’s wedding is an answer in itself. As anyone who has read my rambles before knows, I unapologetically fly the Team Charles flag, and let me tell you, despite her supreme stalling techniques (you’re not divorced yet, we should probably speak to the children blah blah), hearing Liza say, ‘my answer is, I love you’, my jaw hit the floor. I’m sorry, did Liza Miller just declare her feelings openly and directly and with absolute certainty??? We’re 33 seconds into the new season and I AM SHOOKETH DARREN. 

Speaking of declaring feelings openly and directly, I love absolutely everything about this opening scene. The music choice was perfect and really helped build the moment, as Charles told Liza he understands her hesitation before un-asking her to marry him (so that when the she’s made her mind she can pop the question - I kid you not, this has always been my dream...). The music cutting out and just hearing the crickets as Liza asks if he’s really withdrawing the proposal, his quip about her having to make the next move, assuming he’s still on the market (I love/hate this foreshadowing btw), it is Charles/Liza banter at its best and my sappy heart was soaking up every morsel. Throw in some CGI fireworks and the observation that they are sign (which may or may not play out at a later date) and you have yourself a pretty darn near perfect start to Younger’s final season.

Speaking of talking openly and directly, one of the staples of the Youngerverse, the Maggie morning debrief, is back as our way to gain insight into the thoughts, feelings and ponderings of Liza. Straight off the bat I am very pleased that Maggie has fully committed to ‘Chaz’ for Charles and I’m even happier that we actually hear these two talking about what’s going on because honestly, the last couple of seasons the Maggie/Liza convos, which we traditionally rely on heavily to know where Liza is at and to hear Maggie’s sage/sometimes terrible advice, have been skimmed over or felt rushed. We are also reminded that Liza has indeed seen Charles’ goods (the Empiriconda, she’s meaning the Empiriconda) and that the sex is hot, because we need to have all the information on top of the declarations of love to highlight how their relationship is pretty much perfect so that what transpires is even more painful.

Other things that are painful include the fact that Diana will be decidedly absent for most of the season (to be fair scheduling/covid are pretty legit reasons and in ep 1 we can chalk that up to her honeymoon, so more lamenting on that later), but early on it provides some pretty fab Lauren Diva-worshiping. Donning a baroque print Moschino suit that would’ve made Fran Fine jealous, Lauren is clearly distracted by the responsibility of her interim role at Empirical, as her mother frets about the theme for her 30th birthday party over face-time.

Keeping up the chaotic energy, we also discover that Kelsey has to go and let Quinn know she no longer needs her money (these characters’ ongoing relationship with the woman who has tried to ruin all of them at some point really needs unpacking with a good therapist at this stage) and Josh is in full frantic dad mode because he thinks Clare is trying to kidnap Gemma (lol that Lauren straight up calls her out on it later). Two quick points here:1) love seeing this side of Josh and 2) love Kelsey’s calm, measured reassurance that of course Clare would want her family to meet Gemma. I will say though, Josh meeting Rob for the first time when he’s about to go with Clare and Gemma to Ireland and hearing this guy he doesn’t know from a bar of soap exclaim, ‘I’m just in love with your daughter’ was super unfair. Not cool Clare, not cool. 

Kelsey keeps her cool as she breaks the news of her change of heart to our fave resident villain, who comes complete with a bowl of fortune cookies she ominously encourages Kelsey to consult while also enjoying her own fortune, ‘a new love will come into your life’. It’s all very OTT and ridiculous in it’s obvious foreshadowing and I am here for every minute of it because I sincerely love to hate Quinn very much.

My love of all things over the top is further fed by Lauren entering Diana’s office and making her way to the desk - the music, the way Lauren looks at the framed picture of Diana and Enzo before relegating it to the drawer, any moment I was expecting her to utter ‘my precious’ as she became more and more entranced by the power of the neckwear, before Liza abruptly broke the spell by asking what she was doing and warned her off her consideration of claiming Diana’s office as her own. Very much appreciated the continuity later in the episode when Liza is very distressed that Lauren has gone full-Trout with the chunky baubled ornament around her neck, though Lauren is less Invasion of the Body Snatchers and more Nancy Drew at this point, as she has caught wind of Charles’ proposal while reviewing video footage from Diana’s wedding which she decided, for some reason, to show Josh, who was ‘still not interested’ (we hear your words Josh but your face says otherwise). I am very on board the Liza/Lauren dynamic and their ‘circle of trust’ as Liza asks that Lauren keep the proposal to herself (we really haven’t seen the friendship between these two much) and Liza’s gratitude, ‘Thank you...Di-va’, is hilarious, as is the response, ‘my pleasure, Queen’.

We get many fine moments in the office this ep, the first meeting when there are formal announcements and speeches made welcoming Kelsey back...to a conference room of Charles, Liza, Lauren and a random guy we’ve never seen or heard from before and never will again it seems. It makes me laugh that every person in the room except the dude we’ll never know already knows everything but hey, formality is important I guess? The pitch for ‘Little Women in Space’ by an author played by an actress who is friends IRL with Sutton Foster and they were in the musical Little Women together is honestly too much but also just the right amount and this show does meta so well (not to mention Lauren’s excited outburst upon realising her party theme plus her making sure Liza knows that she knows about the proposal. Subtle as a sledgehammer is our Lauren). 

One not-so-fine moment is the extremely out of left field resignation of Zane followed by the completely douchey moment of him breaking up with Kelsey via face-time with the line, ‘I love you Kelsey, take care’. I’m sorry, what?? On the one hand, I get it that CMD wasn’t available for the season so in some respects better to deal with it swiftly and move on, but it was very abrupt and strange. I had zero investment in the pairing so it doesn’t overly affect my viewing, but any fans out there shipping those two, are you ok? Because that was a brutal way for a pairing to simply cease to exist.

So we have I love yous being thrown around by Kelsey and Zane as they break up because that makes sense (in retrospect I should’ve seen what was coming because these words clearly mean NOTHING *breathes deeply, exhales slowly*) but thank goodness Liza is there to comfort Kelsey, whose statement that she really doesn’t care would be a lot more convincing if she wasn’t crying inconsolably. We get a beautiful transition from Kelsey’s office to Charles’ with a sweeping aerial shot across the autumnal canopy of Central Park along with the gentle music adding to the relaxed pacing of the episode. Liza doesn’t want it to be weird between her and Charles now that the proposal is out there (well actually, its 100% in her court but yes), so he reassures her it’s not weird at all by planting a kiss on her that almost triggers the sprinklers because friends, it is HOTTT. Cue super cute exchange about pro and cons lists, lovingly looking into one another’s eyes and then, another ‘ I love you’ from Liza to Charles followed by Charles responding, ‘I love you too’, and despite my deceased status at this point, it was magical. But also WHAT. IS. HAPPENING. 

These two are so enamoured with one another and it’s as though it’s something they just say to each other all the time, but this is literally the first episode we’ve heard any kind of expression of feelings to one another since the season 6 premiere and even then it wasn’t this direct; Liza ran away and Charles told her he didn’t mind not being at the office because he did it for the woman he loves followed by a cute story about how he can do maths because he’s had feelings for her for 16 years. Don’t get me wrong, the entire scene this episode was perfect and it was SO well done in the way it captured the best parts of their dynamic (damn you Darren Star for being so good at what you do), but it also felt like we were being shown the dream version of what could have been before it’s all snatched away.

Not unlike Millennial, which is like naming a business Boomer Print according to the table of boomers at the investor meeting who blindside Kelsey and Charles by voting to restore the name Empirical (head boomer has clearly had it with millennials, indicated by his statement, ‘who gives a shit about millennials any more?’) and so it is done and Kelsey is officially having a very bad week. It is while enjoying a quiet bourbon in the bar that evening that Charles is joined by Quinn, who is allegedly on her apology tour to explain to investors why she dropped out of the Senate race, but also offers Charles what seems to be a sincere apology for treating his company like a toy (prediction: nothing is ever as it seems with Quinn). I have a confession to make and believe me, I don't like it any more than you do - they absolutely nailed the set up of tension and a little bit of a spark between Charles and Quinn in this scene IMO and I...I *whispers* I liked it.

What I liked even more was Lauren’s completely in character entrance to her own birthday party, omg it’s so ridiculous and perfectly her and Denise telling her daughter, ‘fix your crotch, good girl’ had me chuckling. I feel like we’re getting Kelsey’s set up for the season at this party too, as she’s feeling unsure of what defines her now, and the conversation about defining things carries over into Josh and Liza’s chat when he asks her if congratulations are in order. This exchange between the two of them is just lovely, with Liza clearly feeling a little awkward talking to Josh about Charles, but Josh reassures her that he does like him, for her, and that it brings him joy to know she’s happy. They agree that their relationship doesn’t need to be defined, and that they'll always be in each others’ lives no matter who they’re with. It feels very final for their romantic relationship and I would be celebrating the end of the triangle had I not clocked Josh’s fallen expression as Liza walks away. I really do hope that Josh finds someone he loves and who loves him the way he wants to be loved this season. Josh’s words gave Liza some clarity of her own and so we find ourselves at the magnificent Seaglass Carousel, home of Liza and Charles’ first proper date, once more.

Charles is clearly full of hope and expectation as he meets Liza and they remember the time he and the beard we try to forget about brought her there and it’s all amazing and beautiful and...*collects self*...Liza tells him that she just wants to keep riding the perfect ride. She once again tells him she loves him (we’re up to three times in one ep now for those of you playing at home), that all she wants is his heart and that she wants to be happily unmarried to him every day. To say this does not go down the way she is expecting is an understatement; we learn that Charles doesn’t want a ride, he wants to get off the carousel and not live in a fantasy. He believes in marriage whereas she believes they are now finally free and folks, this is why you talk about your stance on marriage in a relationship BEFORE you pop the question out of nowhere at someone’s wedding. 

You can see on his face, as Liza says she doesn’t want to define their relationship by the rules and obligations of marriage, that he’s hearing that she is not all in (whether that’s true or not) and he thanks her for letting him know what’s in her heart. You know the bit that actually plunges the knife into my heart? Charles shaking his head as Liza says his name, clearly overcome with emotion, before he kisses her on the head looking as though his world has just come crumbling down around him. That knife just gets twisted even further as Liza is left there in disbelief, (we are all Liza in that moment honestly), trying to process how her own declaration could be so easily rejected. You know, I knew it was coming, but it didn’t make it any less painful. I can see it from both perspectives and I have no doubt that these two characters have a lot they need to address and work through as a result of their own failed marriages if they’re going to have healthy relationships moving forward. 

I tell you what, after so long with no new episodes, this first episode of the season was concurrently beautiful and heart-breaking and one thing’s for certain - this final ride ain’t gonna be smooth. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m just going to go and regain some composure so we can start on ep 2...

Season 6 ramble collection can be found here

[mrs-nate-humphrey]

So I have a curious question: as both a writer and someone who genuinely seems to care about Dan Humphrey and his character arc, how would you handle the concept of a "dark!Dan" arc, given the chance? As much as I HATE Dan's season 6 storyline and Sara Goodman's handling of the "dark!Dan" thing, I can't help but feel that there's a small nugget of something interesting there. S6!Dan was clearly written just to prop up Chuck, but I wonder what might have been if the writers still cared about Dan.

this is actually a difficult one to answer, mostly because i have too many thoughts. well, here’s to trying! (to the surprise of Nobody, this got pretty long!) 

uh so, the thing i noticed about dan on first watch but became even more clear while i was rewatching certain episodes is that he’s very... passive isn’t the right word, nor is tolerant, but at the same time, something along those lines? dan keeps quiet when people hurt him or disappoint him - he doesn’t really do anything with that hurt. notable example is vanessa’s coming back? vanessa tries to pick up where they left off, and dan sorta goes along with it to the extent where both jenny and rufus need to tell vanessa that things aren’t how they were before when she left + that she actually really hurt dan - because dan isn’t telling her this himself. 

basically, dan seems to be, by nature, VERY non-confrontational.

given this, i feel like dan’s whole exposé thing in s6 is very out of character  - being like “oh yeah i’m going to actively ruin the lives of the people around me and show no remorse!” feels super uncharacteristic to dan, especially out of the blue like that. 

when it comes to “tolerance” - i don’t know what better word to use,  but throughout the show we see a few instances in which dan spends time with people he doesn’t like, for his own benefit or simply because it’s easier than getting out of that situation. for example, him hanging out with chuck for the charlie trout story, despite regarding chuck with the highest distaste - he puts all that aside because he needs that story, and he’s determined to get it, because he wants to succeed so badly. to some extent, i think that is bad writing (i don’t see dan forgiving someone who hurt jenny that easily or that casually) but at the same time it does fit in with the rest of dan’s character - imo he forgives georgina too easily in the s3 arc, which. does he really believe that she’s changed? maybe! but it feels weird to me because it’s like, while dan seems to have such high morals for himself he doesn’t really care what his friends are like, which i think is INTERESTING. 

based on how you interpret the show canon, dan i think has had somewhere between 1 and 5 friends before the whole thing with serena, & most of these friends are his family (which is sad, i mean. rufus is rufus, alison LEFT, and jenny’s his little sister so there’s definitely things he can’t possibly talk to her about) or vanessa, who left pretty abruptly and hurt him pretty badly. i think given this, it makes sense that he would get into really weird and unhealthy friendships, because he doesn’t have much experience with healthy friendships and ends up just settling. 

when we’re talking about dark!dan, these two things become super essential to me - dan’s non-confrontational slightly passive attitude to his friends, and the fact that he, potentially, could get in unhealthy friend groups and not realise it. i joke a lot about how the dan & georgina dynamic in s6 was my favourite part of the season, but it’s not actually a joke!! i can see how like. dan is still “friends” with georgina, and georgina loves to call the shots, and dan doesn’t mind doing what he’s being told. georgina for the most part seems sympathetic to dan’s problems, and dan, enabled by that friendship and her being there with him, goes and causes absolute havoc. sounds right! like, not the exposés themselves, but just the fact that someone needed to Be There Encouraging Dan to be Bad - i think That’s how it’d start. 

i can imagine dan getting in with the wrong group of people, or whatever - like, dan having friends like s1 carter baizen. and it’d start innocently enough, like “oh these kids who are millionaires and billionaires don’t ever face any consequences for their actions and end up treating people from other class brackets like shit” and evolve into something like dan scamming nate at poker out of spite, and then realising that he’s in this group wayyy too deep, because, yes, he hates the rich kids as a matter of principle, and he’s been bitter about it for a long time, but “isn’t this going a bit too far, guys?” at this point though, much like jenny surrounded by her clique of mean girls, he doesn’t have an easy escape. “no,” carter will say. “we’ve only just begun. do you trust me?” and dan’s friendship is just Like That, which is not great, but he says yes and he means it. 

so that’s one possible dark!dan arc i’d give him - joins a group and his intentions at the time aren’t even Inherently bad, and then just gradually slowly finds himself doing worse and worse things. at first it’d be reasonable stuff - maybe he does the anon call to yale that gets blair’s acceptance rescinded, maybe he’d find some way to mess up chuck’s business deal behind the scenes - things he can rationalise away as things they had coming because blair and chuck did something wrong and if they hadn’t, none of this would be able to affect them. then suddenly he finds himself sabotaging serena and nate and he’s like. holy fuck, what is wrong with me? that would be an interesting thing to explore. 

another thing - i can’t believe i got this far into this response without mentioning jenny. but: jenny.

dan’s canonically not too pissed off about people treating him terribly. it’s what he’s used to, and he doesn’t expect any different! jenny, comparatively, is ready to say ‘fuck it’ to everyone and do whatever she wants to do to get what she wants, even if she hurts everybody around her on the way there - but that’s not what this is about, this is about how dan would never react recklessly and maliciously if someone was bad to him. but if someone hurt jenny??? 

unpopular opinion, but i can see him being gossip girl in THAT very specific context. girls in school are being cruel to his baby sister? he needs to shift the focus away from jenny. he needs to do something to keep his sister safe. so he creates a website, “gossip girl.” he starts blogging about one of the popular girls in his class, serena van der woodsen, because if people are busy sending tips about the girls in his grade, they’ll back off and leave jenny alone. i think if someone hurt jenny really, really badly, dan would basically go, ‘okay, i’m done being a good person’, and running gossip girl or doing something equally big that enables him to hold power over the group of girls who ruined his sister’s life? it could work.

the thing about dan being gossip girl is it makes no sense how the show did it. “a love letter”??? no, no way. dan and serena BOTH know that gossip girl is malicious and cruel and nasty in the early seasons. they both express their distaste/hatred towards the site and whatnot. dan’s “i could just write my way into the story” thing doesn’t sound right to me either, and his whole “i actually secretly wanted to be just like you guys” thing makes me shudder because. hey, whoever wrote s6, did you even watch your own show?

but dan being gossip girl because he’s bitter about the dynamics in high school, the privilege a few groups of people have, because he sees girls like jenny being treated terribly and harassed and pressured and coerced into things they don’t want to do, and he’s like, this is fucked up, why is nobody doing anything about this, what if i did something about this - and he starts gossip girl hoping that it’ll show people how none of their “friends” are really their friends, or that it’ll just form some sort of consequence for kids who never face consequences... like, i can see THAT happening and i think that’d be interesting to explore for a character like dan, especially if at some point jenny gets to like. smack him in the face with a handbag or something and go “you’re so righteous! you only made things worse with your stupid gossip site, dan!” and he’s like oh shit. but he doesn’t know what to do at that point - he’s been running the site for like 3 or 4 years and he doesn’t know who he is without it. 

dan being gossip girl also makes sense given his non-confrontational nature - he can cause conflict without getting involved directly in the conflict, so it’s comfortable for him.

okay, so! wow, this got long, but you must’ve known that it would when you sent me this ask, haha. to summarise: 

dan is very non-confrontational and often tolerant of the wrong people, this could be explored in a certain direction such as if he allied with toxic and dangerous people

dan never really fights for himself, but he’s naturally a protective person, so if something were to happen to jenny, i see that as the most major and natural incentive for a dark!dan arc. 

wow, everything i said fits into 2 bullet points! who would’ve thought.

[imdoingthismspaintadventure]

Worm Interlude 2 -- In which two sisters clean up a street

There were very few things, in Victoria Dallon’s estimation, that were  cooler than flying.  The invisible forcefield that extended a few  millimeters over her skin and clothes just made it better.  The field  kept the worst of the chill from touching her, but still let her feel  the wind on her skin and in her hair.  Bugs didn’t splat against her  face like they did against car windshields, even when she was pushing  eighty miles an hour.

Time for an interlude, it seems we will be getting these between arcs! From the point of view of different characters, to flesh out the world and the story. I always love when stories do that, put us in a point of view different from the main character. If done right, it adds so much richness to the setting.

It seems our interlude protagonist has the power of flight, plus some sort of force field that actively shields her against friction and particles. We learn this in the same paragraph where we also see how much she enjoys using her flight, so we both get characterization and powers at the same time. Nice!

Spotting her target, she whooped and plunged for the ground, gaining  speed where anyone else would be slowing down.  She hit the asphalt hard  enough to crack it and send fragments of it into the air, touching  ground with her knee and foot, one arm extended.  She stayed in that  kneeling position for just heartbeats, letting her platinum curls and  the cape that was draped over one of her shoulders flutter in the wake  of air that had followed her descent.  She met the eyes of her quarry  with a steely glare.  

Superhero landing!

I would certainly be intimidated if she landed in front of me like that! She gives me lots of superhero vibes in terms of her overall alignment.

She’d practiced that landing for weeks to get it right.  

Pfft. Okay she’s also a bit of a dork, and very human.

The man was a twenty something Caucasian with a shaved head, a dress  shirt with the sleeves rolled up, jeans and work boots.  He took one  look at her and bolted.  

You, sir, look like an underling of someone, and the way he nope’d out of there also gave me mook vibes.

Victoria grinned as he disappeared down the far end of the alley.  She  rose from her kneeling position, dusted herself off and ran her fingers  through her hair to tidy it.  Then she raised herself a foot off the  ground and flew after him at an easy forty five miles an hour.  

Classic superman-like superspeed / flight / superendurance is such a nice power to have. I bet you feel like a god.

It didn’t take a minute to catch him, even with the head start she had  given him.  She flew just past him, grazing him.  An instant later, she  came to a dead stop, facing him.  Again, the wind made for a dramatic  flourish as it stirred her hair, her cape and the skirt of her costume.  

She’s really theatric with all this, and I kinda love it. I feel like this guy is thoroughly outmatched.

“The woman you attacked was named Andrea Young,” she spoke.

The man looked over his shoulder, as if gauging his escape routes.

Grunt attacked a civilian and they sent the superhero cavalry to make him super regret it?

“Don’t even think about it, fugly,” she told him, “You know I’d catch  you, and trust me, I’m already pissed off enough without you wasting my  time.”

“I didn’t do anything,” the man snarled.

“Andrea Young!” Victoria raised her voice.  As she shouted, she  exercised her power.  The man quailed as though she’d slapped him.  “A  black college student was beaten so badly she needed medical attention!   Her teeth were knocked out!  You’re trying to tell me that you, a  skinhead with swollen knuckles, someone who was in the crowd watching  paramedics arrive with an expression bordering on glee, you didn’t do  anything!?”

Oh so he’s neonazi filth. Ugh.

I was already kinda unsympathetic to him from the start, but now he can choke.

Fuck his shit up, Victoria.

“I didn’t do nothing worth caring about,” he sneered.  His bravado was  tempered by a second look over his shoulder, as though he’d very much  like to be elsewhere right that moment.  

Fuck this guy. He’s also cowering like a little bitch and trying to look all brave in front of no one, like an idiot.

She flew forward, her fists catching him by the collar.  For just a  moment, she contemplated slamming him up against a wall.  It would have  been fitting and satisfying to shove him hard enough against the brick  to crack it, then drop him into the dumpster that sat at the wall’s  base.  

Taunting a girl who can absolutely ruin his fucking life, maybe not his best idea.

He almost got literally dumpstered.

Instead, she pulled up a little, bringing the two of them to a stop.   They were now just high enough above the ground that he’d feel  uncomfortable with the height.  The dumpster, mostly empty, was directly  below him, but she doubted he was paying attention to anything but her.  

Ah, threatening him with falling from great heights! The batman strat! Or one of them anyway.

“I think it’s a safe bet to say you’re a member of Empire Eighty-Eight,”  she told him, meeting his eyes with a hard stare, “or at least, you’ve  got some friends who are.  So here’s what’s going to happen.  You’re  going to either tell me everything the triple-E’s have been up to, or  I’m going to break your arms and legs and then you’re going to tell me everything.”  

Empire Eighty-Eight huh? Since the last time I heard the name, I’ve been informed about the 1488 dogwhistle, which I had never heard in spain. So yeah this guy is definitely part of some neonazi group, and is all around human garbage.

The group seems pretty big if it has a lot of unpowered mooks, kind of reminds me of Lung and his boys. I bet them and these guys wouldn’t really get along.

As she spoke, she ratcheted up her power.  She knew it was working when he started squirming just to avoid her gaze.

“Fuck you, you can’t touch me.  There’s laws against that shit,” he blustered, staring fixedly over one shoulder.

She turned up her power another notch.  Her body thrummed with current – waves of energy that anyone in her presence would experience as an emotional charge of awe and admiration.  For those with a reason to be afraid of her, it would be a feeling of raw intimidation instead.

Oh so she not only has superman-like powers! She also has an intimidation factor! That is fascinating. It makes her enemies afraid and everyone else feel awe at her presence. ...That sounds a little creepy if it influences normal people but I see how it can give a massive advantage against villains and criminals, in conjunction with her other powers!

“Last chance,” she warned him.

Unfortunately, fear affected everyone differently.  For this particular asshole, it just made him dig in his heels and become obstinate.  She could see it in his body language before he opened his mouth – this was the sort of guy who reacted to anything that spooked or unsettled him with an almost mindless refusal to bend.

“Lick my hairy, sweaty balls,” he snarled, before punctuating it with a spat, “Cunt.”

It makes sense that someone like him would get defiant in a moment like this. Still probably not the best judgement. Fear (even this artificial one) is usually there for a reason.

She threw him.  Since she could bench press a cement mixer, though it was hard to balance something so large and unwieldy, even a casual toss on her part could get some good distance.  He flew a good twenty five or thirty yards down the back road before hitting the asphalt, and rolled for another ten.

He was utterly for still for long enough that Victoria had begun to worry that he’d somehow snapped his neck or broken his spine as he’d rolled.  She was relieved when he groaned and began to pull himself to his feet.

Damn, with a power like hers she really has to be careful to not accidentally kill someone. If she can throw a grown healthy adult like that, sending him flying across the street, she could just as easily end anyone who doesn’t have super-endurance.

I wonder if that is actually a problem in this world? Accidental manslaughter via a missuse of super-strength.

“Ready to talk?” she asked him, her voice carrying down the alley.   She didn’t move  forward from where she hovered in the air, but she did let herself drop closer to the ground.

Pressing one hand against his leg to support himself as he straightened up, he raised his other hand and flipped her the bird, then turned and began to limp down the alley.

....what is this guy even doing? She just yeeted your ass to the other side of the street! Since when is pissing dangerous superheroines a good idea??

What was this asshole thinking?  That she would just let him go?  That, what, she would just bend to his witless lack of self preservation?   That she was helpless to do any real harm to him?  To top it off, he was going to insult her and try to walk away?

....he IS probably counting on you being a “good guy”, yeah.

But by the way her internal thoughts are going, he may have made a liiitle mistake with all this.

“Screw you too,” she hissed through her teeth.  Then she kicked the dumpster below her hard enough to send it flying down the little road.   It rotated lazily through the air as it arced towards the retreating figure, the trajectory and rotation barely changing as it knocked him flat.  It skidded to a halt three to five yards beyond him, the metal sides of the dumpster squealing and sparking as it scraped against the asphalt.

...did she just throw an entire dumpster on top of him? Like, as a projectile weapon??  Is this poor asshole still alive???

This time, he didn’t get up.

“Fuck,” she swore, “Fuckity fuck fuck.”  She flew to him and checked for a pulse.  She sighed, and then headed to the nearest street.  She found the street address, grabbed her cell from her belt and dialed.

Oh fuck she might have gone and done it. Used excessive force and super-murdered a suspect. What even happens in cases like this, then?

She seemed to be panicking but then calmed down when she checked for a pulse, so he’s probably still alive, even if knocked out.

It seems to have spooked her enough to make a phone call though.

“Hey sis?  Yeah, I found him.  That’s, uh, sort of the problem.   Yeah.  Look, I’m sorr- ok, can we talk about this later?  Yeah.  I’m at Spayder and Rock, there’s this little road that runs behind the buildings.  Downtownish, yeah.  Yeah?  Thanks.”

Victoria returned to the unconscious skinhead, checked his pulse, and listened intently for changes in his breathing.  It took a very long five minutes for her sister to arrive.

“Again, Victoria?” the voice disturbed her from her contemplations.

She called her sister for help! Does her sister have superpowers too? Maybe some sort of healing or stasis power, so they can avoid him dying, if he’s in a really critical state?

Again, huh? Oof, is excessive force a thing with you Victoria? She might not be as “purely heroic” as I thought. Seeing a lot of gray here as well. Trigger-happy or reckless heroes can be VERY dangerous in certain settings.

“Use my codename, please,” Victoria told the girl.  Her sister was as different from her as night was from day.  Where Victoria was beautiful, tall, gorgeous, blonde, Amy was mousy.  Victoria’s costume showed off her figure, with a white one-piece dress that came to mid-thigh (with shorts underneath) an over-the shoulder cape, high boots and a golden tiara with spikes radiating from it, vaguely reminiscent of the sun’s rays or the statue of liberty.  Amy’s costume, by contrast, was only a shade away from being a burka.  Amy wore a robe with a large hood and a scarf that covered the lower half of her face.  The robe was alabaster white and had a medic’s red cross on the chest and the back.

Oh I like both of their designs a lot! And the contrast between them!

Victoria is a white and gold goddess with statue of liberty and/or divine motifs, which matches up with both her demeanor so far, and the power itself, especially the fear/adoration part.

Amy, on the other hand, reminds me of a final fantasy white mage, so the possibility of her being a healer is even higher (she even wears a red cross!). Also, just by visual design alone, she may be more introverted in comparison to the extroverted nature of her sister. She is like a star radiating light, while Amy is hiding herself with her clothes.

“Our identities are public,” Amy retorted, pushing the hood back and scarf down to reveal brown frizzy hair and a face with freckles spaced evenly across it.

“It’s the principle of the thing,” Victoria replied.

“You want to talk about principles, Glory Girl?” Amy asked, in the most sarcastic tone she could manage, “This is the sixth – sixth! – time you’ve nearly killed someone.  That I know about!”

“I’m strong enough to lift a SUV over my head,” Victoria muttered, “It’s hard to hold back all the time.”

Ooh interesting! Ok so a couple of things:

1) Amy looks cute, with her frizzy hair and freckles, in comparison to her sister’s more traditionally “beautiful” look.

2)Their identities are public??. Sooo....is that a thing particular to them, or to a group they belong to?? Cause I don’t remember very well, but I think Armsmaster kept his identity secret, didn’t he??

It’s very interesting that there are superheroes with public identities! I suppose that turns them into celebrities, even in their private lives, but isn’t that dangerous? Aren’t there villains who would attack their homes or families?

3)It seems Glory Girl is indeed a bit sketchy with the way she uses her super-strength, having six close calls with killing someone just because of an excess of force. I wonder if she can learn to regulate just how hard she needs to hit, because that seems dangerous!

“I’m sure Carol would buy that line,” Amy said, making it clear in her tone she wasn’t, “But I know you better than anyone.  If you’re having trouble holding back, the problem isn’t here -” she poked Victoria in the bicep.  “It’s here-” she jabbed her sister in the forehead, hard.  Victoria didn’t even blink.

“Look, can you just fix him?” Victoria pleaded.

“I’m thinking I shouldn’t,” Amy said, quietly.

“What?”

“There’s consequences, Vicky.  If I help you now, what’s going to stop you from doing it again?  I can call the paramedics.  I know some good people from the hospital.  They could probably fix him up alright.”

Seems Amy is fed up with her sister dodging responsabilities for her recklessness, and wants her to learn the consequences of her behaviour and hopefully excercise more caution. This also confirms that Amy is indeed some kind of healer. Also is Carol their mother or caretaker??

Hey, hey, hey,” Victoria said, “That’s not funny.  He goes to the hospital, people ask questions.”

“Yeah, I’m well aware,” Amy said, her voice hushed.

“This isn’t, like, me getting grounded.  I’d get pulled into court on charges of aggravated assault and battery.  That doesn’t just fuck with me.  It fucks with our family, all of New Wave.  Everything we’ve struggled to build.”

On the other hand, facing the consequences could mean that their whole family takes the blame.

New Wave...it seems Amy and Victoria have a whole family of superheroes, like The Incredibles! Is New Wave’s gimmick that the identities are public? The fact that excessive force threatens the founding purpose of the group leads me to think that revealing their identities is an attempt to gain the trust of the general public.

Amy frowned and looked at the fallen man..

“I know you’re not keen on the superhero thing, but you’d really go that far?  You’d do that to us?  To me?”

Amy pointed a finger at her sister, “That’s not me.  It’s not my fault we’re at this point.  It’s you.  You’re crossing the line, going too far.  Which is exactly what people who criticize New Wave are scared of.  We’re not government sponsored.  We’re not protected or organized or regulated in the same way.  Everyone knows who we are under our masks.  That means we have to be accountable.  The responsible thing for me to do, as a member of this team, is to let the paramedics take him, and let the law do as it sees fit.”

So, New Wave is not government sponsored, like the protectorate is!

On one hand, we have the Protectorate, which is a state-funded professional justice league, with secret identities and constumed antics and such.

On the other, we have New Wave, which is a freelance family of heroes with their identities public and emphasizing accountability and probably a more modern, refreshing approach to superheroing (which kinda goes with the new wave name)

I really like the world building we’ve got going on here. It doesn’t seem to be going that well if Victoria here nearly killed a crook due to an excessive use of force though. At least it seems Amy is more level-headed and wants her sis to also be more careful.

Victoria abruptly pulled Amy into a hug.  Amy resisted for a moment, then let her arms go limp at her sides.

“This isn’t just a team, Ames,” Victoria told her, “We’re a family.  We’re your family.”

Heh, what Victoria is pulling here is the exact sort of emotional manipulation that a spoiled family member pulls when trying to get away with something scot-free. They’ve got a sister dinamic, that’s for sure!

The man lying just a matter of feet away stirred, then groaned, long and loud.

“My adoptive family,” Amy mumbled into Victoria’s shoulder, “And stop trying to use your frigging power to make me all squee over how amazing you are.  Doesn’t work.  I’ve been exposed so long I’m immune.”

Oh wow, seems like Victoria was trying literal emotional manipulation by way of her powers, but Amy has been exposed for so long she’s inmmune. So.... one can build an inmmunity to that aspect of her power?

Also it’s a bit disturbing to think of Victoria using her emotional powers to make her family subtly like her more.

And Amy is adopted! She did look very different from Victoria, based on that description we got earlier.

“It hurts,” the man moaned.

“I’m not using my power, dumbass,” Victoria told Amy, letting her go, “I’m hugging my sister.  My awesome, caring and merciful sister.”

The man whined, louder, “I can’t move.  I feel cold.”

Amy frowned at Victoria, “I’ll heal him.  But this is the last time.”

Victoria beamed, “Thank you.”

The bastard deserves it, but it’s kind of funny how nonchalant they are being with his continued pain in the background.

Seems Amy has finally caved-in to her demands and will heal this badly wounded piece of shit. (Victoria totally acts like a spoiled brat who broke a toy during all this, which is a bit terrifying with a power combination like hers)

Amy leaned over the man and touched her hand to his cheek, “Slingshot break to his ribs, fractured clavicle, broken mandible, broken scapula, fractured sternum, bruised lung, broken ulna, broken radius -“

“I get the point,” Victoria said.

“Do you?” Amy asked.  Then she sighed, “I wasn’t even halfway down the list.  This is going to take a little while.  Sit?”

Victoria crossed her legs and assumed a sitting position, floating a half foot above the ground.  Amy just knelt where she was and rested her hand on the man’s cheek.  The tension went out of his body and he relaxed.

Holy shit, Victoria really pummeled him badly! I guess that’s what happens when a superwoman toys like that with a normal human.

Also Amy can analyze and diagnose what a person has wrong in their body with just a touch? And can remove all pain, also with a single touch? On top of some form of healing?

That is ...incredible. She could revolutionize the world of healthcare and be an incredible professional doctor! Just the analysis part of it alone! It’s just ...so good.

“How’s the woman?  Andrea?”

“Better than ever, physically,” Amy replied, “I grew her new teeth, fixed everything from the bruising to the scrapes, and even gave her a head to toe tune-up.  Physically, she’ll feel on top of the world, like she had been to a spa and had the best nutritionist, best fitness expert and the best doctor all looking after her for a straight month.”

This power is astonishingly good.

She (and other powers like hers) would save so many lives, just by doing normal medical work.

Can she only heal injuries like these, or can she also do things like grow half a person’s body back, or even make someone younger? The posibilities with her are endless!

“Good,” Victoria said.

“Mentally?  Emotionally?  It’s up to her to deal with the aftermath of a beating.  I can’t affect the brain.”

“Well-” Victoria started to speak.

“Yeah, yeah.  Not can’t.  Won’t.  It’s complicated and I don’t trust myself not to screw something up when I’m tampering with someone’s head.  That’s it, that’s all.”

Well it seems she couldn’t cure dementia or parkinson’s disease or any of these blights on humankind. But she’s still amazing!

It’s very interesting to see that it’s not just bam, you’re healed, with her power. She has to actually perform the healing herself. So her power would be ...what? Body scan and manipulation? Organic manipulation? Using the inherent healing sistems of the body as a tool?

Victoria started to say something, then shut her mouth.  Even if they weren’t related by blood, they were sisters.  Only sisters could have these sorts of recurring arguments.   They had gone through a dozen different variations on this argument before.  As far as she was concerned, Amy was doing herself a disservice by not practicing using her powers on the brain.  It was only a matter of time before her sister found herself in a situation where she needed to do some emergency brain surgery and found herself incapable.  Amy, for her part, refused to even discuss it.

Victoria has a more reckless demeanor than her sister. It’s true that Amy being able to cure brain diseases would be incredible, but how would she practice? Would there need to be people used as basically experiments until she gets the hang of it? It seems it would require some not very good means.

Also, Amy does use her powers to do medical stuff it seems! That’s good. I wonder how much certain powers have benefitted humankind in this series.

She didn’t want to raise a sensitive issue when Amy was in the process of doing her a major favor.  To change the subject, Victoria asked, “Is it cool if I question him?”

“Might as well,” Amy sighed.

Victoria tapped the man a few times on the forehead to get his attention.  He could barely move his head, but his eyes lolled in her direction.

“Ready to answer my questions, or do me and my sister just walk away and leave you like this?”

“I… sue you, he gasped out, then managed an added, “Whore.”

“Try it.  I’d just love to see a skinhead with a few broken bones go up against a superheroine whose mom just happens to be one of the best lawyers in Brockton Bay.  You know her, right?”

“Brandish,” he said.

Hmm I feel like there is an ethical conversation to be had here. Both in ransoming the healing and in flaunting that they could get away with it because their mom is a lawyer.

Would the Protectorate be ok with doing something like this? Would the citizenship be ok with something like this?

Again, it could be argued that he’s a neonazi scumbag, but what about in more general cases? Or is getting information out of him instrumental in protecting the people and saving lives, and does that justify one’s actions?

Interesting questions to be had, all in all.

“That’s her name in costume.  Normally she’s Carol Dallon.  She’d kick your ass in court, believe me,” Victoria said.  She believed it.  What the thug didn’t understand was that even if he lost the case, the media circus that would be stirred up would do more damage than anything else.  But she didn’t need to inform him of that.  She asked him, “So do I get my sister to leave you as you are, or are you willing to trade some information for relief from months of incredible pain and a lifetime of arthritis and stiffness in your bones?”

So Carol is indeed their mother, and also the superheroine Brandish! ...I don’t have any idea what her powers are based on that name alone.

“And erectile dysfunction,” Amy said, just loud enough for the thug to hear her, “You fractured your ninth vertebra.  That’s going to affect all nerve function in extremities below your waist.  If I leave you like you are, your toes will always feel a little numb, and you’ll have a hell of a time getting it up, if you know what I mean.”

The skinhead’s eyes widened a fraction, “You’re fucking with me.”

“I have an honorary medical license,” Amy told him, her expression solemn, “I’m not allowed to fuck with you about stuff like that.   Hippocratic oath.”

“Isn’t that ‘do no harm’?” the thug asked.  Then he groaned, long, loud and with the slightest rattle in his breath, as she removed her hand from his body.

Okay I’m kinda enjoying the way they are messing with him, ethical questions aside. Amy going straight for the erectile dysfunction! And a version of the “If I was an undercover cop, I would be obligated to tell you” kind of gambit.

Would the removing the anesthetic hand to make him comply be considered torture? Hm.

“That’s just the first part of it, like how freedom of speech and the right to bear arms is just the first part of a very long constitution. It doesn’t look like he’s cooperating, Glory Girl.  Should we go?”

“Fuck!” the man shouted, then winced, tenderly touching his side with one hand, “I’ll tell you.  Please, just… do what you were doing.  Touch me and make the pain go away, put me back together.  Fix me?”

Amy touched him.  He relaxed, and then he started talking.

Looks like they got him to talk! Not so cocky in the end, against these two.

“Empire Eighty-Eight is extending into the Docks on Kaiser’s orders.   Lung’s in custody, and whatever happens, the ABB is weaker than it was. That means there’s territory for grabs, and the Empire sure ain’t making progress downtown.”

Seems like Taylor accidentaly created a power vacuum! Due to Lung no longer being there, the ABB is left much weaker and other gangs are rising up to the occasion.

Kaiser huh? That’s the leader of these neonazis? Named after german emperors, so it really fits.

“Why not?” Victoria asked him.

“This guy, Coil.  Don’t know what his powers are, but he’s got a private army.  Ex-military, all of ’em.  At least fifty, Kaiser said, and every one of ’em has top notch gear.  Their armor’s better than kevlar.  You shoot ’em, they’re back up in a few seconds.  ‘Least when you shoot a pig, you can be pretty sure you broke a few ribs.  But that’s not the fucked up thing.  These guys?  They’ve got these lasers hooked up to the machine guns they carry around.  If they don’t think bullets are doing it, or if they’re after people who are behind cover, they fire off these purple laser beams that can cut through steel.  Tear through any cover you’re standing behind and burn through you too.”

More competition! In the same way that the ABB seems to have an asian theme, and the Empire are neo-nazis, these guys seem to be some sort of paramilitary militia armed to the teeth with high-tech gear, including ...laser weapons?? So these guys are less about superpowers and more about collective strength, tactics and formations? They sound awesome.

Coil makes me think about tesla coils, so maybe some electricity power to go along with the high-tech motif and weird technology?

“Yeah.  I know about him.  His methods get expensive,” Victoria said, “Top of the line soldiers, top of the line gear.”

The thug nodded weakly, “But even with money to burn, he’s fighting us over Downtown territories.  Constant tug of war, neither of us making much headway.  Been going on for months.  So Kaiser thinks we should take the Docks now that the ABB are on the outs, gain some ground somewhere easier.  Don’t know any more than that, as far as his plans.”

Seems this Coil group and the Empire are about equal in power, with the ABB being now weaker but maybe stronger than both of them previously?

“Who else is up to something?  Faultline?”

“The bitch with the freaks in her crew?  She’s a mercenary, different goals.  But maybe.  If she wanted to branch out, now would be the time to do it.  With her rep, she’d even do alright.”

“Then who?  There’s a power vacuum in the docks.  Kaiser’s declared he wants to seize it, but I’m willing to bet he’s warned you about others making a play.”

Another new player! She’s a mercenary, with a bunch of ...freaks? Are these like mutants, where the powers change their appearance and they are discriminated against? Seems like an interesting group. Faultline.... maybe some earth or earthquake-related power?

The skinhead laughed, then winced, “Are you dense, girl?  Everyone’s going to make a play.  It’s not just the major gangs and teams that are looking for a slice of the pie, there.  It’s everyone.  The Docks are ripe for the taking.  The location’s worth as much money as you’d get downtown.  It’s the go to place if you want to buy black market.  Sex, drugs, violence.  And the locals are already used to paying protection money.  It’s just a matter of changing who they pay to.  The Docks are rich territory, and we’re talking the potential for a full scale fucking war over it.”

He looked up at the blond superheroine and laughed.  Her lips set into a firm line.

Dear god Taylor what have you done? Now we have a full-scale gang war that could spread to the whole district thanks to your actions that day. You certainly caused a big splash!

It kinda reminds me of Doflamingo’s speech in One Piece, where there is a power vacuum that is going to make everyone fight in the near future, only that is much much more high scale than this. Still, what a way to change things.

He continued, “You want to know my guess?  Empire Eighty Eight is going to take the biggest slice of the Docks, because we’re strong enough to. Coil’s going to stick his thumb in just to spite us, ABB is going to hold on to some.  But you’re also going to have a bunch of the little guys trying to take something for themselves.  Über and Leet, Circus, the Undersiders, Squealer, Trainwreck, Stain, others you’ve never heard of?  They’re going to stake out their ground, and one of two things is going to happen.  Either there’s war, in which case civilians get hurt and things get bad for you, or there’s alliances between the various teams and solo villains and shit gets even worse for you.”

Woaah a loot of even more new names! This is worldbuilding, the chapter!

Uber and Leet ...I think they vaguely mentioned them once..? But they apparently were small-fries

Circus is maybe a carnaval or clown-themed villain? Those are always ...fun. I expect a lot of circus gimmicks as their powerset.

The Undersiders are that group of totally innocent teens of which Taylor might or might not be a part of now, and might or might not be planning to eventually betray.

Squealer sounds ...weird. Maybe something animal-based?

Trainwreck maybe summons trains to crash against you. That seems too silly though. (Yukari-approved! )

Stain is obviously from Mha and I don’t know how he jumped to here. On a more serious note, I have no idea what he could be about.

All of these (including our undersiders) seem to be small timers, at least compared to the big three of the ABB, the Empire and the supersoldiers. And also Faultline, which even though she was a mercenary was considered high enough to be counted outside of the smaller ones.

We’re getting to know our underworld landscape here!

He broke into laughter yet again.

“Come on, Panacea,” Victoria said as she stood up, touched ground with her boots and brushed her skirt straight, “We’ve gotten enough.”

“You sure?  I’m not done yet,” Amy told her.

“You fixed the bruises and scrapes, broken bones?”  Everything that could get her in trouble, in other words.

“Yeah, but I didn’t fix everything,” Amy replied.

“Good enough,” Victoria decided.

“Hey!” the skinhead shouted, “The deal was you’d fix me if I talked! Did you fix my cock?”  He tried to struggle to get to his feet, but his legs buckled under him,  “Hey!  I can’t fuckin’ walk!  I’ll fucking sue you!”

Victoria’s expression changed in an instant, and her power flooded out, blindsiding the thug.  For an instant, his eyes were like those of a panicked horse, all whites, rolling around, unfocused.  She grabbed him by the shirt collar, lifted him up and growled into his ear, her voice just above a whisper, “Try it.  My sister just healed you… most of you, with a touch.  Did you ever wonder what else she could do?  Ever think, maybe, she could break you just as easily?  Or change the color of your skin, you racist fuck?  I’ll tell you this, I’m not half as scary as my little sister is.”

Seems the skinhead was still being a pest faking not being cured and Victoria had enough. Damn she can be scary, and that’s aside from the ability to literally make him feel fear. I think part of the scary factor to her is that she could very easily break you and she doesn’t really have that much impulse control. Imagine facing down someone like that and thanks to her power having that fear you feel towards her amplified until she is the worst thing in your world.

And that all pales in comparison to her sister. Oh god I hadn’t considered that application of her power! She has organic manipulation, not healing. Healing is just what she chooses to use her power for! She could unmake you with just her continued touch, or give you any sort of illness or deformity. She has one of the greatest and scariest powers so far.

She let him go.  He collapsed in a heap on the ground.

As the two sisters walked away, Victoria pulled her cell phone out of a pouch on her belt with her free hand.  Turning to Amy, she said, “Thank you.”

“Play safe, Victoria.  I can’t bring people back from the dead, and once you’ve gone that far…”

“I’ll be good.  I’ll be better,” Victoria promised as she dialed with one hand.  She put the phone to her ear, “Hello?  Emergency services?   Requesting special line.  New Wave, Glory Girl.  Incapacitated criminal for you to pick up, no powers.  No, no rush, I can hold.”

Seems this situation concluded with a minor big problem averted. Glory Girl really should be grateful for the free healer she has to get her out of her excessive use of force! They are cleaning nazis from the streets so they aren’t bad or anything, they are the good guys, just a bit too dangerous sometimes!

Looking over her shoulder, Victoria noted the thug, still floundering and half-crawling, “He’s not going to get up?”

“He’ll be numb from the waist down for another three hours.  His left arm will be iffy for about that long, too, so he’s not going to move unless he can drag himself somewhere with just one limb.  He’ll also have numb toes for a good month or so, too,” Amy smiled.

“You didn’t actually…”

“No.  Nothing was broken, and I didn’t screw up anything, beyond a temporary numbness.  But he doesn’t know that.  Fear and doubt will complete the effect, and the suggestion becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.”

“Amy!” Victoria laughed, hugging her sister with one arm, “Weren’t you just saying you weren’t going to mess with people’s heads?”

Heh, I really like Amy. And Victoria too, to a degree. She’s a lil bit spoiled, but I imagine getting such awesome powers at a young age warps your perception of things.

We set up a lot of things this chapter, and it seems our protagonist may have destabilized all of the city with her first night in costume! She’s certainly off to a good start!

[fanficfeeling]

Lovely Part 3 - Jaskier x Reader

A/N: Hey everyone! So sorry to everyone who's been waiting patiently for this part, I had a bunch of major projects pop up all at once and then I got sick, and I wanted to give writing this my full attention! So, finally, here it is! As it stands, this will probably be the last part of this particular story, though that may be subject to change, and I will continue to write for Jaskier and other Witcher characters! I may even be opening up requests very soon, so keep an eye out for that! Thanks to everyone who's supported this as I've rolled it out, it's been a really great welcome back to writing. Here's to more stories to come, and I hope you enjoy!

Summary: Y/N worries that she doesn't do enough for Jaskier in return for all he does for her, just in time for Jaskier to decide that he really wants to tell Y/N just how much she means to him.

Part 1 Part 2

Warnings: Language. Self-doubt? If that needs a warning. Sort of cliche? At least, a sort of played-out scenario that I tried to make my own a little bit!

Tagged: (I decided to carry over the tags from part 2 to this one even though no one asked, just to let you guys know that this is up if you're interested!) @failure-of-the-day @ultracolorfulnerdcollection @blue-hoodies-for-life @athenaisalpha

~~

"Geralt," Jaskier began, tapping his fingers against their table in contemplation, "would you be bothered if I told Y/N that I care for her very much?" He lets out a dreamy sigh at the thought.

Geralt raises an eyebrow as he raises his cup to his mouth, "You haven't done so already?"

"Not... in the sense that I'm meaning now." He thinks back to every hug and compliment he's ever given her, and near kicks himself wishing he'd had the courage after any one of them to tell her that he'd give up most everything in his life if she would kiss him just once.

"Hmmm. Why did you even feel the need to ask me? Your lack of my blessing has never stopped you from pursuing anyone before."

Jaskier thinks on that. "She works with you, and moreover, she respects you. You're important to her, and frankly, to me as well, and I'm serious about this. I wouldn't want this to put a strain on anything for anyone."

Geralt can swear he feels his heart warm at Jaskier's words, but he makes no indication of it. "Do what you must then, I won't stop you. I can tell your intentions are pure, Jaskier."

Jaskier finds himself smiling. His intentions are as pure as they come with Y/N, and maybe in finally telling her that she makes his world brighter just be being near, he can finally repay her for doing so.

~~~

"I'm just worried I don't do anything for him." Y/N speaks aloud as she walks around the horses, readying them for the evening. "Jaskier helps take so much weight off my shoulders and all I do is dump my problems onto him. He deserves better than that."

Y/N hears Roach make a soft noise. "I just wish I could show him that I appreciate everything he does for me! I've never had anyone that put so much effort into making sure I'm okay before, and I just let him without offering anything in return."

She drops heavily onto an overturned bucket after she finishes securing the horses, dropping her head into her hands. Truly, she isn't sure how she would get through some days without knowing Jaskier will be there to grace her with a hug at the end of it. His heartfelt smiles, his impassioned words as he sings, the way he carries himself -- it's all enough to make her feel so overwhelmed she might drop dead and more alive than she ever has all at the same time.

"Jaskier means a lot to me, and I would like him to know that I appreciate him. At this rate we'll never be more than-" She stops herself. No, she thinks, it's not right of me to assume we'll ever be more than anything, never mind what I could do for him.

She looks up at Cinnamon. "No ulterior motive, it's time I give back to him, don't you think?"

Cinnamon steps forward and nudges Y/N's shoulder, gently snorting. "Yeah, okay, I get it, put my money where my mouth is. What could I possibly do for him, though? What's something that would speak to him, something on his page that I could use to honestly tell him-" She springs to her feet, abruptly.

"He's a bard, bards deal in poetry! That might be perfect!" She goes running, only slowly briefly to yell behind her, "Thanks for the encouragement, you two!"

~~~

Jaskier can hardly take his eyes off of Y/N. On a normal day, he's talking Geralt's ear off about anything under the sun as they sit and drink, but today, he just stares at her and wishes she was sitting next to him. They had invited her down to grab a drink with them, but she had declined joining them in favor of sitting at the bar and writing something on piece of paper furiously. "A letter to a family I once helped, to check up on them," she had said.

He had planned to tell her that he loves her tonight. To ask her to come with him, and he would take her to this gorgeous little spot he found by a river as the moon shone down on them, and he would sing to her - but it looks like that won't be happening now.

He wonders about the letter that she's writing; she said it was to a family that she helped, but she very rarely wrote letters to check up on people. Even when she had, it had never taken her this long, or taken so much of her attention. She is adorable when she's concentrated.

He watches her toil away, writing things down, stopping, thinking, scratching them out. She wrings her hands nervously every once and a while. She looks like she's trying to pour her soul into something, and Jaskier decides then and there it can't be a letter. At least not to a previous client. To a friend, maybe? A family member? A chiseled, far-away lover? Oh, god, it can't wait anymore.

He stands, nearly knocking over the table, and he hears Geralt grunt in protest. "Jaskier, what the fuck?"

"I can't loose her to a chiseled, far-away lover!" He asserts, much too loudly for the space he's in as he sprints in her direction.

Y/N thinks she hears Jaskier speaking, so she tears her attention from her work in progress and turns to look in the direction of his table, only to find him standing almost directly in front of her.

She quickly does her best to cover her mess of paper before he can see, and ends up attempting to shove into into one of her pockets "Jask! What's going on?"

"I'm very sorry to be rude, but I need you to come with me!"

"What? Why?"

"Because your passion concerns me, and I really, really need to tell you something!"

Y/N thinks briefly to ask, my what?, but Jaskier is already in the process of taking her hand and dragging her away.

~~~

When Y/N finds Jaskier dragging her through the woods, she can't help but ask, "Where are you taking me, Jaskier?"

Jaskier is slightly frantic as he responds, "You'll see, I just found this place, and I thought it would be perfect when I told you, and I- please, just trust me."

"I do."

When he drags her into this little clearing by a stream, she starts to see what he meant. The rising moon casts light through the tree branches that reflect off the stream, and the light lapping of the water offers a calm atmosphere, and while Y/N begins to worry about whatever Jaskier has to say if he wished to bring her to such a calming space, she admits it has the desired affect.

Jaskier turns Y/N to face him, and she's sure she's never seen him more nervous. "I'm sorry, this is just... important, and you seemed so focused on what you were doing and I was terrified of whatever you could be so passionate about because I didn't want it to steal you away-" He stops himself.

"What I mean to say is, I really wanted to take you here because I wanted to do something for you. Your... compassion, your humor, your presence, lights up my life and I need you to know that. I don't want you to ever think that I don't care about you because I don't think I care about anyone more. You deserve the world, and I need to know that you understand what I'm trying to say."

At first he thinks his words have the desired affect when he sees tears welling up in her eyes and a disbelieving look on her face, and he lets his heart fill with hope that she knows.

But then, she throws her arms up into the air and screams as she turns away from him, and the hope shatters. Had he ruined it? Did she actually have a secret lover and he just ruined their friendship by saying this to her? Did she just not care for him this way? Did she just not care for him at all?

Y/N can't stop the guilt-ridden tears. "You wanted to do something for me? You already do everything for me! You always put in all this effort for me and act like I deserve it when I do nothing for you! You're the most thoughtful man I've ever met and I can't even try to do one nice thing for you without you beating me to it! I just-" She lets out another scream.

Jaskier seems frozen, like he doesn't even know what to say. "You think you don't do anything for me?"

Y/N laughs, in the process of pulling that piece of paper out of her pocket, looking down at it dejectedly, "When have I ever done half as much for you as you have for me? That's why I tried writing this, but I can't even try to tell you anything nice without you getting to it first. You're insufferably wonderful, you know that?"

All he does is reach for the paper, gently, and, terrified, she hands it over.

He can hardly believe his eyes as he looks at the mess on the page, all the scribbles and crossed out words, but there, in the middle, a line of thought:

Every time you speak, my heart soars, and all my troubles seem to disappear from my mind

From the moment I met you, I could hardly believe that you were so real, and so kind

I looked into your eyes when you got close and lost myself in a sea of blue

I'm trying to search for a way to say, I love

"I know none of it's good, you make it look far easier than it is, but I wanted to-" And it's all she can do to keep herself from squealing as her bard pulls her into his arms and holds her tightly than she ever thought possible, laughing exuberantly.

He pulls away just far enough to gaze at her face in awe, "It's lovely! All I ever did was to try to repay you for making me inexplicably happy just by being around, and I wanted to say the same thing to you, that I-" He stops himself and looks at her once more for a moment. He's in just as much awe of her now as he was when he saw her sitting across from him the first time he met her.

He moves his hand to wipe away excess tears staining her cheeks, which are slowing now with her growing hope, and before he can stop himself, he's kissing her.

For one brief moment, everything stops. It seems like not a sound is made, not a thought occurs in either of them, and time stands still, but then all at once their minds come to life in a flurry.

Panting, they pull away, and smiling like idiots, they look into each others eyes once more.

"Y/N, don't ever feel obligated to go out of your way to do things for me. I think just offering me your love would be enough to keep me a happy man for the rest of my life."

Y/N's tears slowly start again, out of joy, this time, and she says, "Then all I could ever ask for is yours in return."

Maybe I was right that first night, when I thought I'd found the perfect man. Yeah, I think I'm going to be alright with him around.

[bloodraven55]

Gaslighting as a Form of Abuse in RWBY

With another comic focussing on an abuse victim having just been released today in the form of Weiss’ issue of the DC comic series, I want to tackle another analysis post in the hopes of bringing some more understanding surrounding emotional abuse to this fandom because in some parts it seems to be sorely needed.

There are a couple of points I’d like to address in this post, the first being the identity of the person speaking to Weiss during the sections set post-V3 in the comic. Most people assume it to be Jacques, but some also think it might be Willow. I can understand both arguments, and I’m not totally decided myself yet on which I think it is.

On the one hand, the type of abuse seems more subtle and manipulative compared to Jacques’ usual direct and aggressive approach, and we’re never actually shown who’s talking, which could suggest Weiss’ mother. But on the other hand the only thing we know about Willow is that she drinks to excess and fights with Jacques a lot so there isn’t really any basis to assume she would be manipulative towards Weiss, and the tone of the dialogue does fit Jacques’ sleazy and condescendingly pleasant demeanour that he assumes when he’s pretending to be nice to Weiss like in V4, so it would also make a lot of sense for it to be him.

For the purposes of this article I’m simply going to refer to them as Weiss’ parent to avoid any confusion and prevent me having to change it later if we get more information or I form a concrete stance on who it is. Their identity doesn’t impact the content of the post at all so it seemed the most logical solution.

With that covered, let’s move on to the main thing I want to talk about, which is the parallels between the way that Weiss’ parent gaslights her in the comic and the way that Adam gaslights Blake multiple times throughout the show but primarily in his Character Short.

“You are not the first Schnee in history to suffer disappointment, and this behaviour is really rather excessive…”

“Blake, I'm sorry. I told you it was an accident.”

This first part is representative of the main principle of gaslighting, which is to undermine the other person’s judgement and make them doubt their own ability to think rationally so that they’ll act the way you want them to.

Weiss’ parent diminishes her suffering by claiming it’s no worse than what other people have been through before—an interesting reference to the quote in the White Trailer which directly contradicts it by stating that “everyone is entitled to their own sorrow, for the heart has no metrics or forms of measure”—to invalidate Weiss’ pain.

Adam downplays the importance of innocents being killed on his missions by framing them as mere “accidents” to make Blake seem paranoid and foolish for being concerned by them and prefaces it with an insincere apology so that she’ll immediately feel bad because she thinks she’s hurt his feelings.

These both show the abuser using the way they talk to make it seem like the victim is totally detached from reality and as though their point of view on the situation must be false, leaving the abuser’s way of seeing things as the only correct option.

“Weiss, I just… don’t understand why you’re behaving this way. You act as though you’ve been kidnapped or imprisoned, and that is simply not what happened.”

“I don't know. I'm out there fighting for us, and when you fight, people get hurt.”

This is a continuation of the first part, further cementing the supposed “irrational” nature of the victim’s behaviour and showcasing the abuser moulding the scenario so that they’re never the one in the wrong.

Weiss’ parent feigns confusion and disbelief at the fact that Weiss is upset at being dragged away from her school and friends against her will, insisting that she isn’t being forced to stay and outright denying the validity of Weiss’ perception of what happened.

Adam dismisses Blake’s concerns at the deaths he’s caused by shifting the blame away from himself, falsely presenting the loss of life as an inevitability of fighting, and placing himself as the victim who’s having his heroism questioned.

In both cases the abuser warps reality to make themself seem as though they’re in the right so that the victim will stop trusting their own perception of events and come to believe that their abuser is right.

“It is natural to be unhappy to leave Beacon Academy, but friends come and go, and go more often as they get older… but family is forever.” / “And if you did have to leave those radicals, those ‘friends’ behind, well… all the better.”

“What, do you want me to just abandon our cause? Like your parents?”

This part ties into another major aspect of emotional abuse which is isolating the victim from their support network of friends and/or family so that they have nowhere else to go and no one else to rely on. However, it is also another example of gaslighting as it involves making those close to the victim appear like the bad guys in order to push the victim away from the people who might try to help them and further into the abuser’s control.

Weiss’ parent describes Weiss’ friends as “radicals” and mocks her bond with them, saying that it was good for Weiss to leave them and reminding her that she’s alone now without them, even spinning it to sound like they never cared about Weiss at all in the first place and as though her family—a.k.a. them—are the only people she can trust.

Adam deliberately brings up Blake’s parents, which he knows is a vulnerable topic for her, to remind her that they’re “traitors” and brand her a traitor too by association, reinforcing the idea that he is the only one she has left.

I suspect that this is the aspect of gaslighting that most people have the least trouble identifying since it basically amounts to guilt-tripping and even the majority of people without much knowledge of emotional abuse are aware of how that works.

“Weiss, sweetheart, please, don’t sulk!” / “Weiss, I love you, but you are really quite overreacting to the whole thing.”

“I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought them up. I just get scared when it feels like you don't believe in me anymore.”

This part I think is what blinds a lot of people to the fact that emotional abuse and manipulation is happening. And that’s because the abuser offers what might appear to be a sincere expression of affection or a genuine apology, when in reality it’s simply a way of convincing the victim that everything that they’re going through is for their own good and that their abuser has their best interests at heart.

Weiss’ parent calls her “sweetheart” and tells Weiss they love her, while in the same breath solidifying the idea that her behaviour is unwarranted and undermining her grievances.

Adam apologises for mentioning Blake’s parents after the damage is already done, while in the same breath making Blake feel guilty for being worried that he’s killing people and making it her job to reassure him instead of the other way around. He deliberately blows what she says out of proportion so that he can pretend to feel hurt in order to illicit sympathy from her.

The veneer of niceness that the abuser uses to hide the way they double down on their manipulation is what makes this facet of abuse hard to spot and can lead other people as well as the victim into thinking that the abuser is right because they seem to be being honest, when in reality it’s all part of how they manage to deceive their victim as well as sometimes serving the added purpose of further isolating the victim from their support network as the people close to them will often side with the abuser here.

“At a certain point, you have to take responsibility for your role in all of this. If you choose to continue in this way, Weiss, then we will have no choice but to keep you here. And you’ll have only yourself to answer to.”

“Why did you have to come into my life and ruin everything?!” / “… but not before you’ve suffered for your betrayal, my love.” / “I wouldn’t have to be doing this if you’d just behave.”

And this final part is a clear example of the end goal of emotional abuse, which is to make the victim think that everything bad that happens is their fault. This is achieved by distorting their perception of reality via gaslighting, as we’ve already covered, so that they trust their abuser’s judgement before their own and will believe it when they’re told that they’re the one to blame for the harm that the abuser causes.

Weiss’ parent makes it Weiss’ fault that she’s not okay with being confined within her own house in a relentlessly unpleasant environment and puts the blame for it on Weiss while claiming to have “no choice” but to inflict pain on her.

Adam places responsibility for the results of his own actions—a.k.a. Blake leaving him, his losing power in the White Fang, etc.—on Blake instead of himself and insists that if she doesn’t “behave” then he has no option but to punish her.

When people in this fandom blame Weiss and Blake to any extent whatsoever for the actions of their abusers, they’re doing the same thing as Weiss’ parent and Adam do here. It’s victim blaming pure and simple, and y’all who are still saying that Weiss deserved to be “disciplined” by Jacques and denying Adam’s abuse of Blake need to just stop.

If you’re interested in reading some of my sources, then here’s a list:

How to Recognize Gaslighting and Get Help

11 Warning Signs of Gaslighting

What is gaslighting? And how do you know if it's happening to you?

You’re Not Going Crazy: 15 Signs You’re a Victim of Gaslighting

[roseoilmuse]

𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔳𝔢𝔫

Summary: Ares Trevino finds out he’s going to be a father, and instead of being responsible, he decides to do everything in his power to forget his current reality, while also ruining his life in the process Characters: Ares Trevino, Aspen Spader, mentions of Eulalie LaVelle and Persephone Trevino, Joy Pepper) Setting: the Trevino mansion, Aspen Spader’s storage unit Word count: 1,583 Trigger warnings: mention of drug use (marijuana, cocaine, heroin), mention of selling of drug, mention of mental illness (bipolar, disassociation), mention of sexual activity

It is Saturday, June 27th.

An intimacy, attention starved Ares Trevino has just experienced his very first episode of disassociation. He has hardly even regained cognizance, a ringing starting to build in his ears, but he can faintly hear the cries of his girlfriend, followed by the soft coos of his sister. The fog of his mind was strong, but still his flight instincts told him that he had to leave. Now. As his astral body snapped back into the physical, he noticed a picture in his hand, but not just any picture, this was a sonogram. Scribbled on the back was Eulalie’s handwriting.

“I’m sorry”

The small pain of a headache had started, and reading the message only made the pain amplify. His flight sense was screaming, he needed to leave, so he did. His ear rang, louder than anything he’s ever heard before as he quickly grabbed his keys and wallet and bolted out the door. Still through the ringing he heard the faint cries, and soon heard angry footsteps. Persephone was pissed, he could feel her energy, which pushed him to practically gallop down the stairs. He didn’t say anything to anyone, just started booking it to his car, having a push to start so it was ready to go before he even stepped foot in. The only trace of Ares was the sonogram, with Eulalie’s handwriting, sitting on the floor of the sitting area of his room.

He drove aimlessly, his goal was to get as far from home as possible, as far from whatever reality his mind decided to separate itself from. The engine roared angrily as he bobbed and weaved in the afternoon traffic, cutting people off, and gunning the engine at yellow lights to barely make it. The ringing in his ears had subsided, but the slight numbness from the heavy episode of disassociation felt like weights. He was halfway through a joint and felt nothing. He remembered he had bought an eightball of coke and left it in his glove compartment, so he went for that, just spilling some onto the webbing on his left hand and snorted it. Nothing. 

More. 

Snort. 

Nothing.

Nothing. Nothing. He felt nothing, his whole face was numb and the drip was making it practically impossible for him to even take a full breath in. He needed something better.

“Maybe it’s cut?” He asks himself out loud, though he knew it was a lie, the guy he went through, Aspen Spader, hands down, has the best drugs money can buy, and that’s who he needed to see. Luckily he was always a phone call away.

Aspen knew what it meant to see the name Ares Trevino flash on his phone screen and In a matter of minutes, Aspen set up a rendezvous spot for them to meet. It was a storage unit, as per usual, that Aspen had set up for moving his bigger weight. Being that Ares was already a loyal customer, he trusted Ares enough to directly come to the source, to a certain extent. So there Ares finds himself pulling up to the outdoor unit, and Aspen motioning him to quickly come in. He’d been there once or twice, Ares knew, don’t touch anything unless asked to.

It seemed Aspen was just having a chill day, the plumes of marijuana and tobacco hung in the air. Aspen explained to Ares this was something he considered an after hours journey, but still he figured they could chill for a bit and get a little fucked up.

He watched anxiously as Aspen laid all the little pills, and powders, flower and oil, carefully setting them in parchment, or filling up various sized baggies, weighing them, and reweighing them whilst also passing Ares a joint, or a blunt, or whatever else they were getting into. Aspen could feel his anxiety. Ares could feel Aspen feel his own anxiety, and though, by choice, Aspen never delved too much into either of their personal lives, he almost felt like he should.

“You okay, dude?” Aspen raised a brow over to Ares, his tone wasn’t nearly as serious as the loaded question, even his expression was light, but Aspen knew he needed to get something off his chest.

“Huh?” Ares was still in a bit of a haze, and while the drug didn’t help, he knew it was more than just that, “oh yeah, just thinking, ya know.”

“Yeah, I can tell dude, you’re far up in your own head today,” Aspen ashed the joint, and placed it back in between his lips, “yah wanna talk about it or are you going to mope all night?”

Aspen’s words stung Ares a bit, only enough to respond sternly, “no, I just don’t even want to think, so unless you have something that will take away this shit then yeah, I actually may just mope.”

A pause, Aspen let out a chortle, handing Ares the joint, and looked as if he was weighing not only his drugs, but a suggestion. The blonde haired man visibly came to a conclusion, setting things down in front of him and moving to a rolling tool box. He dug around for a moment before pulling out a white baggy. The glint in his blue eyes made Ares feel almost hopeful for a solution. The bag soared through the air as it was tossed from one side to the other, Ares luckily catching it, knowing that whatever it was, it had to have a bigger value than most.

Ares stared at it long and hard, feeling as if he stared any longer he might burn a hole straight through it. Cocaine? He thought to himself, pushing his shaggy dyed, black hair out of his face, I already did this today and it didn’t help. His disappointment was palpable, though he continued to stare because he wasn’t one to turn down free drugs.

“Heroin,” Aspen told him, crossing the room back to the table of various drugs, hardly making eye contact, acting far too cool for what he just tossed the younger boy.

“Heroin,” Ares echoed, holding it up to the light. He could tell them it wasn’t cocaine. It looked more powdery, even more… tempting.

“Only if you want to try it,” Aspen again spoke with such calm demeanor it was almost unsettling to Ares.

He questioned his next move hard, though in real time it was a matter of seconds. There were always cautionary tales about heroin, but then again there were cautionary tales about every single thing he ever ingested, ranging from marijuana to even sugary sodas. What harm could it really cause?

His curiosity got the best of him, and before he knew it Aspen was making two little lines for the both of them. It shocked him how little one was, while the other was bigger, it wasn’t even significant. Aspen snorted the bigger line up, and immediately his eyes glossed over, the blues turning practically fluorescent. They were beautiful, even Ares could admit that, to himself though, not out loud.This made his curiosity peak even more. So he leaned in, and sniffed the table.

There was an instant rush. All the hairs on his body stood at a point. The warmth, the relief, the absolute bliss…. No.

The 𝕖𝕦𝕡𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕒.

Ḩ̸̩̰͍͕̣͓͉̕E̷͖͈̋̉̐A̶͓̲̜̭̩͖̮͍̔͛̽͊͘V̴̙̻͕̠̲̹̦̠̜͖̅E̸̢̢̡͍͎̩̣̘̿̽̑̅̈̓̕N̵̛͚͋

It is Thursday, or Friday… Maybe Saturday?

He couldn’t remember, all he could process through the heroin haze was the heat. A July kind of hot… or maybe it was an August kind of hot. Whatever time of the year it was, his world was his own. Right now his main domicile was his expensive sports car. He was splayed out in the reclined drivers seat. The light beamed through the heavy smoke as he hotboxed his car, slowly smoking his joint. What little light came through kept his almost fully closed eyes from shutting. Ares had no idea where he was physically, but his body swam through the euphoria of his new true love.

White China heroin.

It is Tuesday, September 1st.

A girl by the name of Joy seems just as desperate for human affection as Ares is. He was thankful for that. She didn’t even seem to notice how strung out he was, driving to his house. Sneaking her in was no problem. Ares went in first, greeted his mother, grabbed a water-- two, he claimed to be thirsty. Oh he was.

Opened his window.

Crawled out.

And brought her inside. Even in the car when he picked her up, he wanted him. He never understood this. She was actually really nice, beautiful, and seemed nervous so what was Red Riding Hood doing shedding her robe for the Big Bad Wolf?

Shed she did, and Ares realized the heroin made him more carnal than ever. Joy was elated. And after September 1st,

The whole month of September he spent in bed with Joy, alternating smoking and snorting heroin. He smoked in his room all day, even the air purifier couldn’t clear the smell completely. He only left his room for Door Dash, or Uber Eats, or whatever food delivery system that made it so he could never leave. He laid in bed, with Joy, buying her whatever she wanted, and pretending to listen about her fucked up family and her fucked up life. He could have cared, but the heroin made him so detached from reality, there was no such thing as care.

Only 𝕖𝕦𝕡𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕒.

Only Joy.

Only heroin.

Only,

Ḩ̸̩̰͍͕̣͓͉̕E̷͖͈̋̉̐A̶͓̲̜̭̩͖̮͍̔͛̽͊͘V̴̙̻͕̠̲̹̦̠̜͖̅E̸̢̢̡͍͎̩̣̘̿̽̑̅̈̓̕N̵̛͚͋

[homenum-revelio-hq]

Welcome (again) to the Order of the Phoenix, Beth!

You have been accepted for the role of RYLAND GREENGRASS! We really enjoyed your application, especially the in-depth details that you gave to Ryland’s background and his family. We also loved how you didn’t shy away from Ryland being against werewolves, as that is something 99% of the population would’ve felt at this time. We’re so excited to have him aboard!

Please take a look at the new member checklist and send in your account within 24 hours! Thank you for joining the fight against Voldemort!

OUT OF CHARACTER:

NAME: Beth AGE: 24 TIMEZONE: CST ACTIVITY LEVEL: My activity will be able to continue as it has been. Most weeks I’m able to get online at least twice for replies, sometimes more. Outside the school day I’m usually lurking on Discord for plotting, even when I’m not actively on Tumblr. ANYTHING ELSE: None to report

CHARACTER DETAILS:

NAME: Ryland Greengrass AGE: September 3, 1953 (28) GENDER, PRONOUNS, and SEXUALITY: Ryland is a cismale who uses traditional He/Him pronouns. Outwardly he is straight. Inwardly, well, he thinks he is, but Ryland has also never let his mind dwell on the way his eyes traced the flexed arms of male Quidditch players or the nimble fingers of his friends. What he really would identify with if he took the time to properly reflect and learn some options is anyone’s guess, but he certainly is not the strait-laced straight man he thinks he is. BLOOD STATUS: Halfblood HOUSE ALUMNI: Ravenclaw ANY CHANGES: He’s wonderful just the way he is.

CHARACTER BACKGROUND:

PERSONALITY:

Ryland is a generally quiet guy. That’s always been true, but being an ungifted wizard at age eleven will only compound any natural instincts to avoid attention. Although he found plenty of magical skills elsewhere (that he’ll pull out as proof at the slightest provocation), that chip on his shoulder has never really healed. Ryland is also quick to be pulled into an argument over values. When it comes to things Ryland cares about, his disposition morphs into one of the passionate debater, although he will admit that he sometimes lets emotion get the best of him in such situations. He cares a lot and sometimes runs his mouth without thinking. That’s his competitive and compassionate sides winning out over his better judgement.

Although Ryland always struggled with wand magic, he was an excellent flyer, pretty decent at Astronomy, and got better at Potions as he went. His natural curiosity—and a strong desire to find something academic he was good at—led him to add as many classes as possible in third year. He excelled at Arithmancy and Study of Ancient Ruins. The work provided puzzles for Ryland to solve, and he quickly developed a talent that gained him praise from his professors. He’d always known he was meant to be in Ravenclaw and that the hat had chosen right, but he finally had the passion project to prove it. He threw himself into his numbers and symbols work full time by joining the Magical Theory extracurricular class and even picking up side problems from library books where he tried for fun to solve theorems that had stumped wizard-kind for centuries.

Ryland took that problem-solving to Quidditch after he made the team as seeker his third year, and his talents were recognized when he made captain his sixth year. He toyed with trying to pursue a career in the professional level sport, but Ryland wanted to feel like what he did for a living made a difference. As much as he loved Quidditch, he didn’t think that would.

As an adult, Ryland tried to keep his head down at work and socially unless something directly involved him, but listening to his family talk politics led him to chase down rumors of the Order to feel like he could make a difference. Ryland wanted to do something that mattered and that made a difference in people’s lives, but there wass a small part of him that looked at the organization as another way to prove himself. He still isn’t great with a wand, but Ryland’s skills have come in handy in his personal, professional, and extracurricular vigilante life. He has proved himself more than once and was mostly content with that.

Captivity has changed him. The already quiet Ryland has become even more withdrawn, and it’s rare for him to take the initiative to start a conversation for himself. If he has a quippy comment, he’s much more likely to keep it to himself. He isn’t sleeping well at night and would like to blame that for why he’s so jumpy at little things. He has a hard time trusting that anyone is who they say they are and intends to do what they say they will. He feels listless and lost, wanting to pretend everything is normal but having that crumble around him more and more every day.

“BRIEF” OVERVIEW OF FAMILY:

Family tree found here: https://66.media.tumblr.com/c99c5fb1546f15aec17a9dace3acbda4/e31bc90a8e13c282-1d/s1280x1920/cf3519093477810b9eff505fd4268726d60eccc9.png

Zaria Ollivander came from an old and loyal family who knew the value of unity. Their wands could not have lasted a millennia without such drive, and though she herself possessed no gift for wand-making—and was honestly discouraged to develop the skill, as a woman who could carry on a family name, but not her own—she never forgot the importance of family. Soon after her Hogwarts graduation, she was married to Hawthorne Greengrass. Her family joked that while she’d never had a talent for wands in the past, she’d finally found her proper material (or proper wood, as her rather drunk brother joked once; she made him regret ever doing so) to properly craft something magical. Zaria agreed. The Greengrass family was an equally old and prosperous one. She planned to lead it to great things.

It seemed like a sign from magic itself when in quick succession, she and Hawthorne were blessed with three sons. Archer, Verner, and Brighton grew up having everything they could want and learning all the expected superiority they should for a breeding as pure and wonderful as theirs. The only potential testiness in Zaria and Hawthorne’s childrearing plans was Hawthorne’s baby brother who loved to spend time with the children and read to them. Zaria wasn’t too put out by Beedle bedtime stories, but when Sorrel turned to “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” and other muggle fairytales, Zaria wasn’t pleased. Hawthorne placated her with the promise that it wouldn’t affect their education and that family was too important to risk losing over such a small argument. That was all well and good, but Zaria couldn’t help use the same bitter logical to decide it was unfair that when her eldest Archer was only fifteen, Hawthorne and Sorrel took a trip to Italy that turned deadly due to a potions accident.

Zaria grieved privately, but outwardly she remained the same imposing matriarch she’d been since her marriage. Losing the head of the family and his spare could have been devastating, but Zaria hit the ground running with an iron rule that her sons never wished to question. They loved and trusted their mother too much.

Unfortunately Asher must have picked up a little of his uncle’s peculiarities. He’d shocked the family by taking Muggle Studies in school, something Hawthorne had assumed was just a phase. His son wasn’t soft or necessarily muggle-loving, after all. It was a quick. That quirk persisted in a slight disregard for tradition. Asher was still a Greengrass and therefore knew the importance of family, but he placed less importance on pureblooded tradition. His mother nearly fainted the day he told her he had asked Rosalie Ross to marry him. The only saving grace for Zaria was that at least her son had enough sense to choose a halfblooded witch with a few generations of magic flowing through her veins.

Rosalie Ross knew she’d been underestimated the moment her future mother-in-law laid eyes on her, but she wasn’t about to roll over and let herself be bad-mouthed. Instead she endeavored to stay tall and proud in the face of whatever snide comments came from her husband’s relatives. Whether they liked it or not, Rosalie was family new. Rosalie Greengrass didn’t have the same romantic ring as her maiden name, but if anyone suspected her of purposefully giving her son a name that would be just as poetic as her own had been, no one accused her aloud.

She loved Ryland dearly and spoiled him rotten. Asher wasn’t quite the same soft-hearted spirit as his wife, but Rosalie watched him share his fondness with their son in his own way. Four years later when she finally found herself pregnant again, Rosalie was overjoyed, and Asher broke his normally quiet routine to share their joy with anyone who would listen. Ryland didn’t trust the idea of a younger sibling, but that changed when Paisley arrived. He was her fierce protector, kind and patient with her, even at age six. No one was more devasted than he was when she contracted dragon pox.

Rosalie and Asher made the hard decision to shut Paisley away where her brother couldn’t get to her. A four-year-old’s chances of surviving the disease weren’t great, and they had to be realistic. While they continued to push for any medical treatments possible, the grieving parents had already made vowed not to let the disease take two children from them. Ryland never got the chance to properly say goodbye.

He was never quite the same child after that, and while he was still gentle by nature, Ryland began picking fights with his cousins when they didn’t mind their words. Verner and Brighton both warned their brother he had a budding sympathizer in his home, but Asher paid them no mind. He saw nothing wrong with a few liberal ideas about muggleborns. They weren’t on the same level as muggles themselves.

Rosalie knew it was a blow to her husband’s ego when news of Ryland’s first year first reached home. He had seemed to be off to a promising start in Ravenclaw; however, that proved to be less of an assurance that he would be talented than his parents had thought. His struggles with any kind of magic quickly became apparent, and Ryland lagged behind his peers in even the most basic spells. As an emergency measure, Zaria took him to get a replacement wand when he was home at Christmas, despite reminders from her older brother Garrick that a wand couldn’t solve anything. They found one just as willing to have Ryland as the first, and he packed up both to return to school. His grades didn’t improve. He switched between wands. When he went back for his second year, Ryland still took both, but he began using the original exclusively again. It felt better in his grip, and the wand held no ill feelings for his forced betrayal.

The rest of the family delighted in Ryland’s failings. There was the proof of what they’d always believed: even a little muggle blood sullied the whole line. Of course, Rosalie never heard those comments because her brothers-in-law and their wives were more careful than that, but Asher pressed his lips together and bared it with only small remarks.

When Ryland reached third year, he took as many classes as he could fit into his schedule, discovering several new skills in the process. That didn’t change his family’s opinions, though, and the alienation he felt from his uncles’ sides of the family only grew as he developed more liberal ideas about muggles and magic. Grandma Zaria still treated him the same, still only made lemon bars with Ryland (just as she had a specific recipe for each of her children and grandchildren), but things were tense, and she didn’t pretend not to notice. She often warned him that he had to stop rising to the bait because his uncles and cousins were only looking for a fight.

He didn’t listen. He never did. It soon became clear that his cousins Lachlan, Ewan, and Lachlan’s wife Delilah were likely Death Eaters. If his other extended family members weren’t, they were at least supportive. Only Zaria seemed to keep completely above it all, but she cared more about family loyalty than any loyalty to a zealot’s cause.

Even with all their differences, even with all their animosity, Ryland thought he was safe among them. After all, they were family.

OCCUPATION: 

Gringotts Researcher—Prior to his kidnapping, Ryland had worked his way up to a coveted spot on the Gringotts vault security team. It had him doing valuable work within Gringotts that also occasionally gave him access to sensitive vaults whose contents might interest the Order. However, his position was given away during his absence, as he clearly hadn’t asked vacation time. Gringotts did allow him to come back into their employment, but he’s been rerouted to another division for the only available position fitting his talents. He’s now a researcher for Gringotts Cursebreakers, which means he spends a lot of time poring over old books and offering practical advice. The work doesn’t interest him as much, as it reverted him from creating puzzles to solving them, but at least it’s still of potential interest in the Order in its own way. He hasn’t lost all his usefulness to the world.

ROLE WITHIN THE ORDER/THOUGHTS ABOUT THE ORDER:

Ryland was perhaps a bit naïve when he joined the Order, treating it a bit like a club rather than an underground vigilante group. He did catch on to the stakes fairly quickly, but it’s not like he had fighting expertise to provide anyway. What he did have was a mind for puzzles and occasional access to old vaults owned by long-standing and distinguished pureblood families. The latter gives him some inside information that is occasionally of use while the former makes him a capable problem-solver and researcher. He knows he’s not the only person in the Order with those skills—far from it—but they did allow him the opportunity to mid-level over the years. Ryland doesn’t necessarily agree with all the decisions that are made, and occasionally he’s spoken up when he disagreed. Mostly he’s been the quiet guy in the background who helps theoretically take things apart.

After his ambush, Ryland thought rescue would come pretty quickly. It was common speculation that he had Death Eater relatives, although Ryland hadn’t taken it personally. He was hardly the only one in the Order with that kind of suspicion on family members. Surely they would put the pieces together and rescue him. The longer that passed, though, the less likely that seemed. Ryland grew bitter thinking about people he’d considered colleagues and even friends. Eventually it occurred to him that he wasn’t important enough to be worth a rescue operation, even if anyone did put the pieces together correctly. That stung worse than anything else.

Once he’s back, Ryland will be incredibly distrusting of anyone and unable to stick his neck out for any kind of personal risk when he has pretty good evidence now that he won’t be supported if those risks increase. That said, he cannot walk away. Not only does he owe them for his eventual rescue, but he also has no one left. Without the Order, Ryland will be completely isolated and alone. He can’t stand that idea, even if Ryland feels bitter about this whole situation and his own dependence on people who clearly don’t care about him or anyone else compared to the cause itself.

SURVIVAL:

Only an old pureblood family could have extra lands and homes not in use to just pass on to the next generation. Ryland doesn’t have a family estate or anything like that, but he has been legally gifted an old family vacation home in Bath. It hadn’t been used regularly since his grandmother was a little girl, and Ryland was able to fix it up and bestow (through Orders, not his own wand work) new charms and protections over it to keep people out without his blessing. Security is what he does for a living, after all. The house was so heavily warded that his family couldn’t break in during his imprisonment, so he still has it as a safe house. The wards have only increased in his newfound paranoia post-rescue.

He wants to spend a lot of his time that he isn’t at work in his house because it feels more secure, but he spent so much time alone. Ryland has been in solitary confinement when not being tortured for the past three months. He needs a little noise, a little human interaction, even if it makes him nervous. The Order safe houses have their own levels of security, so he is likely to be lurking around the corner from the action, still skittish around people and especially around these people he previously thought he could trust.

Ryland said a lot of things under duress to try to stop the pain or to keep himself alive. He had bones broken over and over, and only the Death Eater’s willingness to heal him after has kept him from permanent disfigurement (which only serves as further proof in his mind that Ryland had family helping with those sessions). He has a lot of guilt about it now and frequently wakes up in the middle of the night over it, when he manages to sleep at all. In the coming months, he’s going to struggle with some dependency issues as he struggles to find a healthier coping mechanism than sleeping draughts every night. He knows they aren’t healthy long term, but when nothing else seems to work, what is he to do? It’s likely he’ll end up buying things that are not entirely legal to cope with the pain and his own inner turmoil.

RELATIONSHIPS:

Is anything in Ryland’s fault not falling apart right now? Or at least not at risk? He’s spent over three months being tortured physically and mentally while his hope slowly corroded away in desolation. No one was coming for him. That was a fact he fully accepted for at least a month, possibly more since he didn’t exactly have a great way to keep time while locked up. It will take time for him to rebuild his trust for people. The people he most hoped would come are also the people he has the least trust in right now. He can’t look his parents in the face anymore, even though he’s mostly sure they weren’t involved.

His old friends should have known something was wrong. They should have known that Ryland wasn’t the kind of person who just up and disappeared without warning. The fact that no one seemed to look for him and that no one who says they did apparently looked very hard have not been easy potions to drink. Ryland desperately wants to be around people again now that he has the chance, but even if he did trust them, the noise of crowds or groups make him nervous. All of this in combination means that he’s currently hard to be around, doesn’t know who he wants to be around, but needs to be around someone. He has a lot of anger and accusations that seem perfectly reasonable to him, given what he’s just gone through. Ryland only hopes he won’t lose everyone in the process.

OOC EXPLORATION:

SHIPS/ANTI-SHIPS: Ryland/Chemistry—I have no preconceived ship ideas for him, although based on his character relationships, Ryland/Gideon, unattainable Ryland/Archie, or one sided Ryland/Isla all seem to have some potential seeds to sew if eventual players are interested. If anything buds with another male character, he may take a little gay panic to get there. Regardless of gender, he’s not exactly in the most trusting place right now to start a healthy relationship, so it’s going to take time or not be great with his mental state.

WHAT PRIVILEGES AND BIASES DOES YOUR CHARACTER HAVE?

Ryland’s family seems to have one token liberal per generation to more extreme levels. Sorrel liked muggle stories. Asher didn’t see what was so bad about supposed mudbloods. Ryland finds muggles fascinating in a purely academic sense. He refuses to see them as anything other than people deserving of care and consideration. He once almost made his grandmother faint with a comment that he didn’t think a woman’s blood status mattered in her marriageability. That said, Ryland doesn’t really understand the muggle world. He’s never spent any time in it and knows next to nothing about the people. His fight in the Order is less about protecting muggles and more about evening the playing field in the magical world. As much as he loves his family—and has to acknowledge their position in it—Ryland doesn’t think the old traditions of rigidly structured hierarchies and frequent inbreeding of pureblood families can be sustained for many more generations. Everything has reached a point where it can tip either way, and he’d rather not see the world tip into chaos.

Still, there are a lot of things that old structure has provided to Ryland, including his home. He has to acknowledge them, but he often doesn’t look at the far-reaching implications of what all that has afforded him.

On another note, Ryland’s general feelings about magical equality don’t necessarily extend to other magical creatures. He works with goblins all day and respects their intelligence and powers. He can appreciate that many house elves can easily do things without a wand that he struggles to accomplish with one. Half-breeds, though, make him nervous for a variety of reasons. Half-veela are hard to trust when they can manipulate people so, and that seems like a security risk. Werewolves are even worse in Ryland’s mind. His baby sister was isolated before her death because she had a deadly contagious disease. That description matches lycanthropy only all too well to Ryland, and he doesn’t understand why more people don’t see the concern of letting werewolves walk among them pretending to be regular wix instead of the disease-carrying risks they are.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? You people keep pulling me in by being so wonderful for idea bouncing and muse possibilities. I’m not going anywhere, and I look forward to introducing my sad boy.

PLOT DROP IDEAS:

It could be interesting to potentially have to make a difficult choice related to family; however, Ryland needs a little time to work through the trauma first. It’s also possible he learned something in captivity that might spur Order action.

On a personal character growth note, I really like the idea of him fueling his pain and healing into turning his home into a kind of sanctuary for people whose families have turned against them like his or who don’t have anyone to turn back to. Eventually I’d like him to be running a foster home, especially for Hogwarts-aged teens. This wouldn’t be an immediate thing.

ANYTHING ELSE? Nope!

[blookmallow]

I FINALLY GOT SKYRIM MARRIED

i have a BEAUTIFUL WIFE

...who i went through a lot of shit for. this is. a lot of exposition, bear with me :’) im very invested in my character’s personal story here

so astrid had a very important special job for me and sent me to markarth to speak with the client directly

it turned out to be the apothecary’s assistant, who i was passingly familiar with already, so i imagine it was a bit of a surprise to both of us, but she got right to the point - a man broke her heart and ruined her life, used her to hurt the people close to her, abandoned her to go become a bandit, now she wants him dead

u can probably imagine where this is going,

this is the first time ive had a dark brotherhood job i was legitimately PSYCHED to carry out, you BET ill go fuck this guy up for you id do this for free

however, she also had... another request, one that wasn’t required, but something she really, really wanted

see she was very close with/practically another daughter to the shatter-shields in windhelm, the wealthy family who recently lost a daughter to the windhelm butcher

alain had manipulated her and used her to get to the shatter-shields, i dont remember if he stole from them or what happened there, but whatever it was, the shatter-shields blamed muiri for this and disowned her, throwing her out onto the streets with nothing

so she was used and had her heart broken by a man she loved, then was told it was Her Fault, and lost her home and her friends/the closest thing to family she had all at once, and was so hurt and desperate she turned to the dark brotherhood to get revenge on them all

she wanted me to kill nilsine too, the shatter-shields’ other daughter

SO we have this really complicated situation where, on the one hand, she wants alain dead for using her and ruining her life and hurting her friends, and like, he’s a bandit leader now, so he’s someone i probably would’ve easily killed off anyway, by “this is a video game not real life”/skyrim standards that’s a no brainer, i have no moral conflict with that and can’t wait to slash this guy’s head off

but on the other hand she’s so broken she wants a woman who used to be her best friend/practically her sister dead too. i dont know what nilsine’s role in this was specifically but these people were essentially her family, and they victim blamed her when she needed their support the most and threw her out with nothing and nowhere to go

and i had already done quests with the shatter-shields before this, so like, i know them too, and they’re sort of friends to me, i helped solve the mystery of their other daughter’s murder and now I’m being asked to kill the other. not to mention everyone’s going to think the butcher’s back/there’s a copycat killer/something and it’s gonna cause a panic again (even if the game doesn’t acknowledge that/directly show that happening, y’know) 

killing someone’s daughter when they’re still in mourning over the first, when they’ve come to trust you, when you’re the one who helped them gain closure over that first death already, is just. a stone cold thing to do

especially looking at it from my character’s perspective, she’d be especially torn on this because she’s a mother herself, but her children are girls she rescued from the streets - lucia was thrown away by her family, sofie was a victim of tragedy and was let down by the people in authority who should have protected and helped her

so medea would relate to tova as a mother and a friend but also relate powerfully with muiri as a victim in this

ultimately i don’t think there’s any real justification to kill nilsine here, i dont think you can really morally defend that, but. i was so drawn to muiri and wanted so badly to give her a shot at a better life and help her heal from all this, and knew she would become a marriage option if i did it bc id seen her name on the marriage options list before, her story fits in so well with medea’s, and like, i dont imagine im gonna have a lot of options for wives who would Know about my connection to the dark brotherhood/the things ive done and be okay with it, so if i went with her, there wouldn’t be a “keeping this horrible secret from my wife” aspect to deal with even though the game probably doesn’t acknowledge it if you do (i mean im still. keeping it from my kids, but. y’know. when they’re older)

and “talk this out with her and help her see how badly her mind’s been warped by the pain she’s been through” isn’t an option given to you, so

in the end i went through with it. killing alain was easy, just like any other bandit camp raid, but to get at nilsine without being caught, i had to sneak into their house when the family was asleep

which i expected would involve a lot of careful sneaking and laborious lock picking

until i realized i could just walk right in

because the door was already unlocked for me. because they consider me a friend and allow me into their home

and that somehow made it so much worse

i killed nilsine with an arrow, nobody heard a thing, and i ran for it before anyone saw me in there or realized what had happened

muiri gave me a special ring as a “symbol of her affection” for doing this, which i think is about the biggest sign i coulda hoped for lmao

i held off on considering marriage for the time though and finally decided i had to go back to windhelm to see if there was anything i could do to make amends to the shatter-shields even though they shouldn’t know it was me/make sure i didnt get seen by a guard without realizing it or something (though it wouldn’t probably matter anyway, guards saw me leave the orphanage immediately after grelod’s death and shrugged that off, so,)

my name’s still clear in windhelm, but...

tova committed suicide after she discovered what happened

she couldn’t cope with losing another daughter

so now the father is the only one left, coping with. the death of his entire family occurring within like a couple months

i didnt see what happened here i came back later so i dont know if this is something you can possibly stop or if its possible to witness the moment they find nilsine or tova’s suicide or if this just Inevitably happens whenever you come back

i feel terrible about this but theres. not really any going back now,

so. i went back to muiri

i dont know if this is what everyone says or not but her response was just. “i mean, yeah, why wouldn’t I be” i love her lmao

i wouldnt choose to get married in riften if it was up to me but thats how it be in skyrim i guess

my babies are here!!!! what!!!!

and a. random guy i dont recognize lmao :’)

just wandered in to see what was going on i guess. or maybe we’re friends and i forgot who he is entirely which would be kind of sad :’ )

maybe it was my long lost father... slipped out before i ever had the chance to realize it

however i actually. ended up doing this scene twice because, fun fact, there’s a glitch where if you don’t manage to catch up to your spouse to talk about where to live before they leave the chapel they can just fucking Disappear sometimes, :’  ) i couldnt find her anywhere after the wedding and finally looked it up and apparently she just fell into the void so i had to reload and run it again. we’re double married now

planned better this time and dressed better but anyway that elf guy didn’t appear this time but some other guy did, who i ALSO cant quite identify, he looks. maybe. kind of like lucas valerian? who is actually a friend to me and was one of the first friends i made so it’d decently make sense for him to come to my wedding, but weird if he came and camilla didn’t, and im not even sure thats him anyway, so i dont know what happened here all around

muiri’s mentor lady came too though which was sweet

im spinning this kind of as... like, medea was so drawn to her and felt so strongly for her she couldn’t bring herself to disappoint her and this was an eye opener for them both as a kind of. “look what kind of people we’ve let ourselves become” and their marriage as a new beginning, love coming from a place of desperation and darkness, starting over and hoping that the divines will forgive what they’ve done

medea’s not leaving the brotherhood but i mmmmmight try to be a little more careful about who i kill

i had intended for her to come live with me in markarth, she’s in on my. assassin life so having kind of this Other Side to my life made sense but... she met my kids at the wedding i guess and she wanted to live with them... which is really cute,

it feels really weird having this huge fancy house all to myself (and uh. argis, i guess) in markarth and having my wife and kids (and lydia, and a fox) all squished into the honestly kinda run-down whiterun house though i think im gonna work on getting the solitude house for them bc its. safer there than in markarth i feel like and ive heard thats like the fanciest/biggest house

there she is..... my Wife

she also sells things now but i feel bad accepting it when she gives me “my share” of the profit like.... babe thats your money i have so much adventuring money and i didnt do shit to help earn that,

i buy things from her sometimes but i refuse to sell her stuff bc i dont want to take any more of her money :’ )

even tho it. doesnt really matter, its video games, i know, but

found lucia, the fox, and muiri all on the bed at once

lydia was just standing like this for a rly long time after muiri moved in i guess she was suspicious but chilled out eventually :’)

gettin along finally

i just realized if we move to solitude lydia’s gonna get left behind though :(

i mean ill still come visit her but. upsetting

my one issue is that muiri still keeps saying “thank you for solving my-....problem.” every time i come in speaking distance of her which is. weird given that its the same line she had before we were married, like, she apparently doesnt get any new things to say, and is Really repetitive (imagine living in a small space with your partner and they say the same sentence with the same intonation every time you step within like 2 feet of them. how long til that gets old, do you think, ) and also its just like??? girl let that go we gotta stop dwelling on this or the kids are gonna start questioning what apparently massively important problem mommy solved

idk why she was laying on the floor but anyway my kids have started calling her “mama” now too and im not crying or anything

[briangroth27]

Spider-Man: Far From Home Review

This is my 200th original blog! I’m happy to make it about one of my favorite fictional characters and I’m glad to report that Spider-man: Far From Home is an absolute blast! I loved it and can’t wait to see more of Peter (Tom Holland) and his corner of the MCU. They did a great job of retaining the well-developed interpersonal relationships of Homecoming while upping the stakes and taking Peter and his classmates on a tour of Europe.

Full Spoilers…

Peter’s journey from street-level Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man to full-blown international superhero Avenger takes a solid step here, with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) drafting him into a battle with Elemental beings from a parallel universe. At first I thought it was kinda lame of Fury to be so all-in on high school junior Peter Parker suiting up instead of helping Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) fight the Elementals himself—I’ve always thought the MCU’s reliance on SHIELD to bring heroes together rather than the heroes teaming up by themselves made them less altruistic in a way, plus why do we need Fury if he’s just going to sit on the sidelines and point heroes at obvious threats?—but then I realized they were playing Fury as the parent or invested teacher in a high school movie. So, forcing Peter to help in the battle with the Elementals was their take on that kind of character encouraging a kid to step up and make the most out of their potential. He even goes so far as to ruin Peter’s vacation to get him to take his “job” seriously, and looking at him that way—with the Spider-films functioning as superhero movies by way of John Hughes—his role works really well (much like Tony Stark’s role as a parent who could say no to Spider-man in Homecoming). I also liked that Fury did agree to help Peter keep his identity a secret to an extent—that was reasonable of him—and "Night Monkey" was a fun gag (I wonder if he’ll don that simian alter ego again, given how this movie ends).

I liked that Peter’s anxiety over telling MJ (Zendaya) how he felt affected his Spider-sense—it seemed like a realistic parallel to being so stressed out that you literally worry yourself sick—and this worked much better than Spider-man 2’s Peter losing his powers just because he didn’t want to be Spider-man anymore. Making his “Peter Tingle’s” (lol!) function related to his stress and emotions also leaves the door open for his Spider-Sense to fail again, which is a nice dramatic bomb waiting to go off. Another dramatic bomb I’d like them to detonate is letting Peter realize that Tony wasn’t all great and did screw a lot of people over. Both Mysterio and Vulture made valid points about Tony and it wouldn't be a betrayal of Peter's Stark-adoration to recognize that he was a flawed person; it'd be the responsible, grown-up thing to do. Much like in Homecoming, I do worry that the MCU is playing Peter as Tony Stark's successor and heir apparent too much without fully exploring what we know to be the truth about Tony. I don’t want Peter to be the next Iron Man—he should be the first self-made Peter Parker instead—but it was a nice moment to see him take the steps of designing his new suit (even if I was hoping it’d be the classic one). Karen was fun and useful as someone for Peter to talk to in the last film, but I didn’t miss her in his new suit since he had Happy (Jon Favreau), Ned (Jacob Batalon), and MJ. I liked that Peter got to put his science skills to use and design his own web attacks instead of Stark gifting everything to him, though I’ll concede that the "moment" of Peter picking up the holo-designers did have a significant impact. Still, I loved him walking away from the Avengers in Homecoming (though I wish he hadn't gotten the Stark suit back) and I hope he eventually walks away from Stark Industries too instead of inheriting it or something. I want him at Horizon Labs and/or creating Parker Industries as a startup, inventing tech that helps the little guy instead of creating global defense networks. Speaking of, EDITH (Dawn Michelle King) was a fun addition to the film and Peter's mistakes with it felt appropriately teenager-esque (in a heightened superhero way, of course). I liked that it was way too much for him to handle and that he tried to get rid of it. I wish he’d destroyed it in the end, though my initial impression was that it’s essentially neutered now since all the drones are down and, given his reaction to seeing into everyone else’s phones, we can trust that he won’t use it that way again.

On the whole, the Spider-man films are the most enjoyable in the MCU (I also love that so much of their screentime is about Peter’s non-superhero life; we don’t get to see that from many other MCU heroes), but ignoring major dramatic moments keeps them from topping the Cap films as the MCU’s best. My biggest disappointment here is that we didn't—and apparently won't—see the fallout from May (Marisa Tomei) finding out that Peter is Spidey. I would’ve thought she’d be concerned about how being a superhero will affect his future (not to mention his safety), though I guess not since she fully encourages him to take his suit to Europe (also playing into that "embrace your potential" parental space Fury operates in). Was there a period where she worried about him before they came to this "everything is fine!" place? Did they compromise on ground rules for his superheroics vs. getting his homework done? The fallout from that reveal was a necessary piece of their arcs and it’s a mistake to skip it. I wish we hadn't had to detour into Infinity War after Homecoming (or that May walking in on him in the suit had also been Peter’s introductory scene in IW) and that we could've seen more of Peter and May's paths to get to this point.

Regardless, I liked seeing a new role for May now that she's in the know. It would've been nice to use that role to help give Peter advice or something, but it’s OK that that mainly manifested in her pushing him towards being a hero (and giving him an alibi to ditch the trip). Peter asking her for pointers on how to tell MJ he liked her would've been a solid route to take too (like when she helped him get ready for the dance in Homecoming), and it could’ve been a chance to bring up Uncle Ben and how he first told May about his feelings. I love that life for Peter and May hasn't ended with Ben’s death, but it would be nice to directly reference him. Continuing to mourn him would've been too much with Peter also mourning Stark's death (and it would've made Happy and May's flirtation awkward), but both Peter and May have clearly moved on so it would be OK to reference him without always being a downer. Ben’s initials on Peter’s briefcase were a nice subtle touch, but my friend pointed out that the suitcase getting blown up should’ve had more meaning to May and Peter instead of getting played off as joke (“Where’s your luggage? Oh right; it got blown up!”). Even a moment to say that physical things don’t matter when they can remember Ben and live as he did would’ve been enough. Speaking of Happy and May, I thought they were cute and I like where it's going (it if does go anywhere). At one point I thought not Snapping May would’ve been a way to bring the classic May into the MCU, but I wouldn’t have liked putting her through five years of hell with Peter having vanished. I like this May much better than the classic one who might have a heart attack just by finding out that Peter is Spider-man, and taking him away for that long probably would’ve led to that version so I’m glad they didn’t. I liked May helping the homeless shelter rather than sitting at home worrying about Peter being Spider-man: it’s nice to see her being a hero in her own right. I wonder if that job will bring us Mr. Negative sometime down the line; he could make things even worse for Spidey's rep.

Speaking of, this was an excellent rendition of Mysterio! I can't believe I didn't realize how perfect a villain he is for an era full of Fake News, where our leaders lie to us so casually and very few citizens bother to fact-check what they say. I hope he’s not dead and I don’t believe it. Faking that death would be a hard needle to thread with people clearly believing that he died a hero—so there must be a body, right?—but I’m sure there are ways around that. If he really is gone, what a way to go out! I definitely didn't expect him to announce Peter's secret to the world, but I'm glad they did: that’ll open up a lot of story potential and we’ve seen Peter do the secret identity thing in seven movies now; we can do one where he fights to put the genie back in the bottle and has to deal with the fallout. Gyllenhaal was very good in the role—the perfect mix of heroism, menace, and self-important ridiculousness—and while I knew he was a villain, he had me wishing that he wouldn't follow his comic book roots. I liked that he was the adult who let Peter slack and indulge in what he wanted rather than what was (arguably) best for his future (and certainly best for the world), and their chemistry allowed for a quick development of their brotherly bond. I liked the idea I saw online a while back about Quentin Beck having been a special effects guy on the "really old movies" Peter is always referencing who lost his job because of CGI, but his backstory here was so much better and it was very cool how they tied him and his cronies into the history of the MCU. I'm also so happy we got a comics-accurate costume for him! They really drove home the point that it would be impossible to fight Mysterio if you didn't have Spider-Sense and the sequence showcasing that was fantastic. Yes, that CGI was noticeably CGI, but given how he creates his illusions and the fact that it's a filter over real-world dangers, I thought it totally worked. The point wasn’t to create a photo-realistic illusion at that moment anyway, as there were several images that didn’t make logical sense in the “real world:” Beck was trying to scare and disorient Peter, getting him to hurt himself on real-world dangers, and the kid fell for it. I've never seen that threat level from this character before and that was a standout sequence of the entire MCU. I'm sorry that it looks like Sandman, Hydro-Man, Molten Man, and Cyclone are just illusions in this universe, but the Buzzfeed theory the gang finds means they could still be out there. Maybe Mysterio based the Elementals on them in the first place!

I'm of two minds about Nick Fury in this film. On one hand, I like the role he played in Peter's life here. On the other, the post-credits reveal that he was actually Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) acting as Fury while the real Nick was on vacation undercut the genuinely interesting character development Fury got. I really liked that he went from knowing everything about the world to knowing nothing. It's also more impressive if Mysterio dupes the real Fury instead of a stand-in. If Talos was sending Fury regular reports, then both those things are still at least halfway true, but it's not as effective or clean IMO. I’m glad to know Fury is a human who needs a vacation sometimes—the always alert, always prepared, always badass character the early MCU films painted him as would get boring and one-dimensional—but with these character developments maybe this wasn’t the best time to play the Skrull card. I hope the Skrull reveal is a one-time gag about Fury taking some time off (which does explain his insistence that Peter jump into the battle instead of doing it himself) and not a prelude to Secret Invasion. There just isn't time in these movies to sacrifice a whole film's worth of character development for a Skrull reveal. Secret Invasion would totally work in an MCU show, but the films aren’t like the comics where we have decades of time spent with the real characters plus a significant amount spent with their replacements; if they decide a character was a Skrull for an entire movie, that’s like a ninth of their total MCU screentime and development (if not more) erased.

I was happy that we got to spend a lot more time with MJ in this film. She's awesome, Zendaya plays her perfectly, and I really like this direction for her character! Her interest in the morbid history of everything is very endearing and I also like her obsession with telling the truth. At first I thought that might be a fun and interesting challenge for her once she found out about Peter (a twist the trailers shouldn't have revealed...classic Sony!), but now I'm thinking it could drive her towards journalism like in the Ultimate Comics universe. I would love to see her, Peter, and Ned team up to prove Peter's innocence and tell the world what really happened (while covering up Pete’s ID, which would bring that challenge aspect back to her). I liked that she played an integral role in discovering the truth about Mysterio and that she figured out Peter was Spider-man on her own; now I'd like to see that applied to her future. Her burgeoning relationship with Peter was sweet and felt well-developed given how long they’ve known each other; they are very cute together and their first kiss felt very teen-realistic. I can't wait to see how they work as a couple! With Midtown’s mascot being a tiger, I wonder if we'll get the "Face it, Tiger..." moment at some point.

Ned and MJ's low-key competition about knowing Peter's secret was fun too. I'm glad Ned has grown out of wanting to tell everyone Peter's secret (though that did create some fun drama and obstacles we wouldn't have gotten from the more responsible Peter by himself). I really like his friendship with Peter (and Batalon’s rendition of Ned) and even though he didn't get to be the Man in the Chair this time around, they could easily bring that back next time to help clear Pete's name. Ned and Betty's (Angourie Rice) trip-long summer romance was a funny subplot and a nice nod to their comic book marriage. I'm glad Betty got more screentime here, even if it's still weird to me that she's so visually patterned after Gwen Stacy (if they are saving Gwen for Spider-Gwen, I'm all for it!). I loved that the school news reports Betty and Jason (Jorge Lendeborg Jr.) anchor are still so hilariously (and realistically) bad! They were the perfect vehicle to recap The Blip and I really liked how it was handled. This film isn't the place to look at the massive problems such seismic shifts in the global population would cause, but I firmly believe the MCU needs to address them somewhere (Agents of SHIELD and the other shows would be my choice). They could get literal years of great drama exploring the fallout of both snaps, the global upheaval, the extremes surviving heroes went to, surprising heroic turns from villains that were left behind, etc. and while I'm glad they didn't just erase Thanos' Snap, it's a massive missed opportunity not to mine the fallout for all it's worth somewhere. Global changes like this should be felt in everything going forward, even if they're not the main focus. Still, the kids’ frustration that they had to take their midterms over again and the weirdness over some kids having aged five years while the rest of them didn’t worked perfectly for the corner of the MCU this movie was playing in. Those felt like realistic teen complaints and they’re all I needed from this film in terms of the Blip.

Flash (Tony Revolori) was funny and I liked the surprise beat at the end about his parents not arriving at the airport to welcome him back. His adoration of Spider-man and jerkiness to Peter is still a fun combination too, though I would like to see Peter ruminate on that dichotomy a little more. Give Peter a moment where he feels like he’s getting one over on Flash because his bully idolizes his alter ego or something, then pull the rug out from under him with Flash being Flash (they almost have this moment here, but it’s more about establishing Flash’s Spider-fandom than Peter really considering/laughing at it). Still, I can't wait to see how he reacts to the knowledge that Peter is Spider-man! The teachers (J.B. Smoove, Martin Star) were great again too! Peter has one of the best supporting casts in the MCU and this film was no different. Mr. Harrison's tragic and over-shared love life was great fun, as was science teacher Mr. Dell being convinced the Elementals were the work of witches. Even though they do care about the students, the teachers being so inept goes a long way towards justifying how easy it is for Peter to slip away to do his hero thing. It’s also very funny; I wouldn’t change a thing! I liked that they made a point of joking that there had been very little science on this science club trip, but as excuses to get them to Europe go, it didn't bother me at all that they never got to study science.

I was delighted to see JK Simmons return as J. Jonah Jameson! That was a great bit and the evolution of the character into a Fox News-styled conspiracy theorist pundit who peddles lies is a perfect direction to take the character. I can't wait to see where he goes next! It would make total sense for him to hire the Scorpion (who already wants revenge on Spidey) or Kraven to take down the "menace" of Spider-man (perhaps as a dry run for the Sinister Six) in this context. I'm also wondering if we'll finally hear "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" as a rebuke to JJ from Peter: with such a large platform that commands power and implies trustworthiness, Jonah (and the press in general) has a responsibility to tell the truth, especially in an age where people will believe anything. As bad as our leaders are, the press enabling them by publishing conspiracy theories and not calling lies out as lies is an equally enormous problem and that would be an excellent “villain” to tackle in the next Spider-man. I wonder if they’ll let Peter re-establish his secret ID, or if he’ll end up accepting his pubic status as a way of showing he’s different from the liar leading the Daily Bugle.

The world of this film was great and I'm eager to see more of Peter's corner of the MCU. I liked that they continued to emphasize the diversity of the real world through Peter’s classmates; we definitely need more of that (in addition to getting more diverse characters as leads). I thoroughly enjoyed the acting from everyone in the cast. The pacing was perfect and they balanced the romantic drama, decisions about Peter's future, action, comedy, and stakes very well! There was a cool variety of fight scenes and I really liked Peter working to secure buildings and civilians while Mysterio took on the Elementals. The CGI was great and well-used. Michael Giacchino’s score was excellent once again! I really like his orchestral version of the 60s Spider-man cartoon theme (and hope we get a similar rendition of the 90s X-men theme for their reboot), as well as the other themes Giacchino developed for this series. The pop culture songs they used are great, but they shouldn't shy away from songs today's kids like as well. As a kid in the 90s, I listened to songs from the 60s on an oldies station along with current music so it doesn't bother me that Peter's music also spans decades, but there should be a more even mix of the two. I’ve seen comments online about how using modern music would date the film, but a major reason the 80s classics are “timeless” is because the people who grew up with them now use them in their films. Peter and his tastes shouldn’t be limited to what a 30-40 year old thinks is cool; they should be what the current teens think are cool.

I wonder how Peter being unmasked will affect Vulture for keeping his ID a secret, to say nothing of how it's going to wreck his personal life. This should be a seismic shift in his status quo and I hope they don't skip over it again like with May finding out. Maybe Black Cat could help Peter navigate the “criminal” lifestyle and make things even more complicated for him when he’s seen hanging out with an actual thief. Maybe Peter will get snarkier because of all this (since these movies are already so funny I didn’t notice his lack of quips until I saw author Gail Simone mention it on Twitter, but this turn of events could be a way to sharpen his comedy a bit). How will it affect May? Regardless of my (ultimately small) misgivings with certain aspects of this Peter’s development, Tom Holland is excellent in the role and they're telling their story very well, so I’m happy and excited to see as many adventures as he’s willing to suit up for! Who knows; maybe they can make Miles Morales the self-made, homemade Spidey instead of Pete. If he were Peter's contemporary instead of his multiverse counterpart here—do their team-up like a buddy cop movie with them as competing teenage Spider-men—they could make a statement out of Peter getting handed the keys to Tony’s kingdom while Miles has to resort to homemade methods, which would be pretty cool and socially relevant.

Whatever the future of the MCU has in store for Peter, I can't wait to see it! Far From Home is an absolute blast that's neck-and-neck with Homecoming for best live-action Spider-man film (Into the Spider-verse is still the best Spider- (and superhero) film overall) and you should definitely see this while it's in theaters!

 Check out more of my reviews, opinions, and original short stories here!

[eldritchsardine]

BBRae Week 2018 Day 6: Silently Pining

It had happened again. That flash of emotion Raven thought she detected, a blink of hope, there and gone in a moment. Funny how something so short affected her for weeks to come each and every time it occurred.

The empath sat at a table along with the rest of her team outside of their favorite Jump City pizzeria. Though she currently was starring pointedly out at the civilians bustling about from their table, her mind was occupied by something completely different. Namely, the green shapeshifter seated, much to her chagrin, directly beside her.

She attempted to ignore him, but that was a difficult enough task on a normal day, much less sitting beside him in public. She could almost feel the warmth of his smile as he turned to her. "What about you, Rae? Who's your favorite villain?"

Adopting an uncaring persona, Raven spoke withot turning to see him, keeping her eyes fixed on the bustling streets nearby. "Adressing me by my actual name would increase the nonexistent likelihood that I answer your moronic question."

Though her gaze never diverted from their target, she could clearly envision his grin growing larger all the same, the mental image still sending her stomach into a frenzy of butterflies despite herself.

"Oh c'mon," Beas Boy mock whined. "Why cantcha just answer?"

Raven made a show of rolling her eyes and sighing, ensuring not to hint at her inner turmoil. "Because I'm not interested."

The changeling wrapped an arm about her shoulders and pulled her close. "Well what'll it take to get you interested?" He questioned conspiratorially.

Raven automatically felt herself freeze at his touch, and the thought that he could do so so easily. A street lamp she had been inspecting beforehand shattered, and she finally directed her attention back to the others seated at the table. Thankfully, they seemed preoccupied with the conversation at hand. However, that didn't change the issue at hand; a green arm about her shoulders which both sent shivers of warmth through her body and spikes of pain into her heart. She needed a distraction, and now.

"Hey guys, what's going on?"

Raven had never been so thankful for a gay man in her entire life.

Greg, the young pizzeria waiter whom had been unofficially assigned as the Titans' official server, sauntered over to their table laden with server cheesy discs, and Beast Boy was immediately diverted. The green teen had somewhat of an obsession with the college student whenever he was around. Raven suspected that Greg made him feel normal, like he wasn't a green freak.

Of course, she thought the skin and ears and fang were cute, though that's something she would never divulge.

Greg placed their pizzas on the table, announcing each as it was served, before turning to Robin, which reminded the empath of the alternate reason Beast Boy probably was rather fond of the waiter.

"Don't eat too much now, Boy Wonder," he told the caped crusader, voice dropping several octaves almost to a low purr. "Can't ruin that perfect form." As he spoke, his eyes unashamedly ran up and down what he could see of Robin's body above the table as the superhero flushed.

Greg was gay, and attracted to her leader. Therefore, he represented neverending mortification for the Boy Wonder, something Beast Boy enjoyed immensely.

"Thanks for the advice, Greg," Robin responded weakly as Cyborg and the changeling beside her tried to reign in their hilarity.

With the conversation successfully diverted, Raven was free to sort out the struggle plaguing her psyche.

Beast Boy felt nothing but friendship for herself for her over the years, despite what she may have hoped for. Yes, that friendship was boundless and steadfast, and came with caring, trust, and concern, all things the half-demon never would have thought she would receive in her life at one point. However, these things were exactly why she wished for more from the him.

And in the past, there had been brief moments where she thought that she could have it, leading from years ago up until mere moments ago while waiting for their food. Moments where that unshakeable friendship gave way to an emotion that had her shaking, though in excitement or fear even she wasn't sure.

But then, the emotion would disappear, faster than a light flicking off. It completely bewildered her, and cracked her heart open slightly more every time, though recently she had been hoping she had numbed herself to the pain.

Apparently she hadn't, despondency surging through her at the thought. This time the pangs of heartache were even more instense than in the past, as if they merely strengthened over time.

Overwhelmed by a deluge of misery, Raven felt her eyes sting and tugged her hood further down over her face before pushing her chair back to stand. The others paused, Greg stepping back from a protesting Robin, whom he had been trying to use as a model of peak physical performance. She avoided their questioning gazes, and merely uttered a quick "I need to meditate," before conjuring a black portal and walking quickly through, coming out in the comforting dark and loneliness of her room.

As soon as she did, the empath lowered her hood and allowed the tears to fall silently, causing her vision to blur. Her room was the only place where she felt safe and comfortable enough to cry, even if the action still filled her with a sense of weakness and self disgust. To think that her, Raven, the only daughter of Trigon the Terrible, was reduced to crying hurt nearly as much as the green teen's emotions themselves.

At least no one will see me do it.

Or so she thought, before a sound turned her back just in time to see Beast Boy stumble through the gateway after her before it closed. He straightened up and immediately froze upon seeing the shining trails of moisture traveling guiltily down her face. She too was paralyzed, self consciousness and grief rushing to the forefront of her mind.

"Raven," he finally murmured with a soft voice, reaching out for her uncertainly. She recoiled in fear, and that's when it happened again.

Through the swirling maelstrom his emotions had descended into when he rushed after her into her room, that something winked at her, this time lingering for a short time before drowning under his other sentiments. As if it was mocking her.

Mocking. Her.

The half-demon snapped, eyes bleeding a bright crimson glow and black pooling around her form. She surged forward until she was inches away from Beast Boy's face, whose face had flooded with fear and confusion, and he stumbled backwards, falling to the floor in surprise as she towered over him.

"Don't you 'Raven' me," she snarled. "Don't you touch me." Sorrow-fueled rage flowed through her, shattering statues and rending books at their seams about her room, unnoticed by both teens.

"Rae, I-," Beast Boy began, but she cut him off with a growl.

"You've hurt me enough already, and Azar forbid I let this carry on for another second. I won't let it," she hissed dangerously, feeling a sick pleasure as his emotions filled with fear, taking it as recompense for everything he had inadvertently put her through.

"These feelings I have for you are a curse," she continued. "A source for pain and nothing else. Now if you-." She stopped abruptly as an unexpected warmth flooded through her. After a brief reflection, she realized the feelings was coming from the changeling before her, his face now flooded with understand, disbelief, and... happiness?

As an unbridled joy bloomed on the green teen's face, Raven found it increasingly difficult to maintain her anger at him, realizing that the situation was in no way his fault. At least, not intentionally.

"Feelings?" Beast Boy echoed in wonderment, and she was paralyzed by the realization of what she had just said. Just revealed. "You... have feelings for me?" The statement was more a question than anything as he stared up at her in amazement.

Raven whirled around to run, but in an instant the changeling has her arm in his grip. She struggled to break free, powers forgotten for a moment, until he spoke again. "I do too!" He nearly shouted, trying to reign her in. Pausing, he amended the statement. “I mean, I do for you, not me.”

The empath's struggle slowed as she processed his words, but then renewed her efforts. "I would feel it if you did," she replied, once again flooding with tears and a feeling of weakness.

However, that's when the curtain was removed and a tidal wave of affection, and definitely not affection of the friendship sort, crashed into her, and she was submerged by the sentiment, drowning in it. She instantly stopped moving, staring at the changeling in shock, mouth moving soundlessly.

Beast Boy shrugged sheepishly, releasing her wrist. "Mento taught me how to disguise or hide my emotions from empaths and mind readers. I was never that great at it, but..." he trailed off awkwardly.

Raven stared back, still trying to recover from the sheer force of emotion. "So those flashes that I've been feeling," she murmured, almost to herself.

With a nod, the green teen continued. "Those were my concentration slipping."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Her voice nearly broke as she asked.

Another shrug. "Probably the same reason you didn't tell me. Scared."

The pair stood in silence in the center of her room as she processed the new information, him no doubt doing the same. "So, what now?" She finally asked.

"Well, we did both just skip out on lunch," Beast Boy replied, a sly smile creeping onto his face, sending her stomach once again into somersaults, though she kept her poker face on of course. "Want to go get something to eat?"

"No," Raven deadpanned. She felt bad when his face fell tragically, but she was still slightly hurt by what he had unknowingly put her through. "But I wouldn't say no to stopping by a cafe or restaurant during our date."

For those who are curious, Greg is an OC I first introduced in my fic "Testing Feelings". He's just a side comic relief character that I like having some fun with and will occasionally show up in my stories.

[jaycatubigan2001-blog]

A REAL DOLL by A.M. HOMES

Summary of "A Real Doll"

A.M. Homes is the writer to turn to when you want someone to lift the floorboards of everyday life and show you the roaches scurrying underneath.

‘A Real Doll’ is the story of a teenage boy’s erotic obsession with his younger sister’s Barbie doll. Published in 1990, it is the final short story in The Safety of Objects. After the publication of her novel Jack, it was this collection that cemented Homes’ reputation. She became known as a writer who was not afraid to document the twisted things we sometimes glimpse in the mirror. The collection shows that the banal objects with which we surround ourselves are sometimes very far from safe and can instead lead us down dark paths.

The story starts on a gentle note with the boy declaring that he’s dating Barbie three afternoons a week while his sister Jennifer is at dance class. He chats amiably about how he brings Barbie out on their first date to the back-yard. There, he discovers that she’s a Tropical Barbie and that she squeaks when she talks. Captivated, he describes her eyes as ‘sparkling blue like the ocean on a good day’; she has ‘an entire galaxy, clouds, stars, a sun, the sea’ painted on her face.

It is only when he goes inside to fetch Barbie a Diet Coke that we realize we have been deceived and that Homes has lulled us into a false sense of complacency. The boy takes a couple of Valium from the bathroom medicine cabinet, breaks one into the Coke and swallows one himself; we are presented with a teenager self-medicating with prescription drugs and feeding them to his ‘date’ to eradicate inhibitions. This is a far cry from the seemingly innocent, romantic role-play that opens the story.

His reasoning behind the medication is simple, ‘I figured if I could be calm and collected, she’d realize I wasn’t going to hurt her’. He repeats this justification a little later, ‘I figured if we could be calm and collected together, she’d be able to trust me even sooner’. However, he also admits that he is ‘falling in love in a way that had nothing to do with love’. He may be young, but he is self-aware enough to know that what he’s feeling for Barbie is not love. He wants something else entirely from her and what he wants will require trust, or at least the illusion of it. There is a world of difference between the base urges of lust and the romantic notion of love – and with this one sentence he reveals that his intentions have no basis in the latter.

After this point (i.e. after he has fallen ‘in love’) the relationship between the boy and Barbie becomes an exploration of the power he exerts over her. At the end of their first date together, he puts her head into his mouth, like a ‘lion and tamer, God and Godzilla’. Comparing himself to these figures, he is associating with representations of ultimate power. The tamer subjugates nature’s monarch; the lion, God, and Godzilla exert their supremacy through slaughter, creation, and annihilation. The lion and tamer relationship is inverted here as the tamer often puts his head inside the mouth of the lion to demonstrate complete control. In this scenario, Barbie should be the tamer, yet it is the boy (here, he is the lion) who forces her head into his mouth.

There is an animalistic quality to their relationship, a coalescence of pleasure and pain. The boy bites her neck, licks her face, and sucks her feet, until eventually he progresses to masturbating with her in his bedroom. He thinks about how he is ‘forever crossing a line’ between ‘good guys and bad, between men and animals’. When he climaxes, he describes it as the ‘most horrifying experience’ he has ever had. He can’t even look at Barbie afterwards, even though she begs him not to stop. However, in a moment of clarity, he admits that ‘maybe I just think she said that because I read it somewhere. I don’t know anymore’. The fantasy world is starting to crack and shame is creeping in.

When he goes to the toy-store to buy Barbie a present, he is surrounded by rows upon rows of Barbie doll replicas. He imagines himself becoming a slave to Barbie, having to sexually service each doll before discarding it onto a growing pile in the corner of his room. In response to this overwhelming image, he feels faint. We get a sense that the boy is starting to realize he’s losing control of his own fantasy.

One day, he sees that his sister has swapped Ken and Barbie’s heads. He accidentally knocks Barbie’s head to the floor when picking up the doll and sees that his sister has used red pins as earrings for Barbie. The pins go right through her head. When he tries to explain this to Barbie, (who thinks she is supposed to get used to the resulting headaches) she can’t understand him. He admits that he is ‘starting to hate her’. However, in contrast, he becomes increasingly aroused by the Ken doll.

After his sexual experience with Ken, he worries about his future life as ‘queerbait’. However, soon afterwards, he decides that he wants to play with Ken and that he might take him out instead of Barbie. They could play ball together; ‘it was a boy thing, we were boys together’. He then smashes Barbie’s head ‘back on her own damn neck’. He has started to turn away from the object of his obsession, seeking male companionship – even if it is in the form of another doll.

In an attempt to win back his affections, Barbie pleads with him to have sex with her and he wonders if Jennifer knows that her toy is a nymphomaniac. While the image of a nymphomaniac Barbie draws a sly grin, there is also the possibility here that Homes is commenting on society’s judgment of sexually forward women. Everything is fine while the boy is the one making advances, but when Barbie attempts to do so, he retreats from her. He responds to her increasingly desperate advances by saying, “You don’t belong with little girls”. For him, Barbie is a sexual object and thus no longer fit for associating with children. This is a neat illustration of Freud’s Madonna-whore complex where women are artificially divided into two categories: saintly mother-carers and debased, prostitute-like personalities.

Eventually giving into Barbie’s demands, he rips her clothes off, but discovers that Jennifer has sliced Barbie’s skin and drawn on her. He asks Barbie why she lets Jennifer do such things to her. She responds by saying simply, “Jennifer owns me”.  In reaction to this, he becomes ‘crazy’ with jealousy, realizing that the relationship between Jennifer and Barbie is ‘one of those relationships that could only exist between women’. Jennifer didn’t ‘want’ Barbie, as she already ‘had her’. This is an unvarnished admission that he sees Barbie as a possession; he wants to control her yet he cannot do so completely because Jennifer remains the prevailing owner. The sexual relationship he has with Barbie is of lesser importance because her ties to Jennifer will always override her ties to him.

This holds true even when Jennifer goes so far as to disfigure Barbie. The things that Jennifer has done to her sicken him, but he cannot do anything to stop the mutilation because Barbie belongs to her. He is powerless to act without openly admitting that Barbie means something to him – and he will never do so.

When he sees Barbie in her final, destroyed state, instead of acting like the amorous lover of earlier, he examines her in detail, ‘like a scientist’, like a ‘medical examiner’. Transformed from the thing of beauty she was when they first met, Barbie is now scarred and hacked apart. ‘She was smiling, and she was burned. She was smiling, and she was ruined.’ She is no longer desirable, and he walks away, ignoring her when she asks in the last line, “Hey, aren’t we going to play?” The object of his lust and obsession is now merely a defaced toy that belongs to someone else.

Homes takes the innocent role-play of childhood and escalates it into a story of lust-fuelled obsession, laced with dark humour. She explores the seamier facets of our sexual urges: the paradoxical connection between pleasure and pain, the conflicting dualism of man’s sexual evaluation of women, and the concept of women as man’s possession. What is so disconcerting, yet intriguing, about this story is that all of the above is done by taking a mass-produced, familiar object like Barbie and showing what can happen once our secret fantasies are let loose.

‘A Real Doll’ should be read to catch a glimpse of what roils beneath the bland, homogeneous surfaces of American suburbia. Read it if you never want to look at a Barbie doll in quite the same way.

Analysis

A real doll is a short story about ayoung boy that was experiencing puberty and doing some sensual that is inappropriate for his age. In the first line" i take barbie away from ken. I'm practicing for the future". The speaker gives us a clear inage about the situation pf the character the young boy in the short story it tells us that it was hard to experience new things that is Physicall, sexually and emotional aspect that was in his age

According to Angela janovsky (2019) "Genre is a broad term refers to any works that share certain characteristics l. A main literary genre is a poetry wherein it is written in lines and stanzas instead of sentences and paragraph "A real doll" written by Amy Michael Homes is a short story, it tells us about the young boy experiencing puberty and doing some sensual that was inappropriate to his age.

As cited by Andrews Motion (2016). Theme is defined as main ideas or an underlying mean of literary work whcih may be directly or indirectly. The theme in the poem was the urge of pleasure felt by the young boy and how to control his darker side when he was experimenting Barbie as a real girl practicing for his future when dealing with relationships.

As cited in the literarydevice.net (2018) stated that the subject gives the readers a conplete idea of what the work is all about , or about whom is the Author's writing. Understanding how the subject is used is necessary to write a cohesive literary piece. The subject their is the sexual pleasure experience by the young boy a writer gives her readers an insight about on what will happen to their children if there is a lack of guidance in regards to their sexual orientation, physically and also during their puberty. Thus the parents must have a strong guidance so that their children will be on the right track and they are matured enough to yandle the truth regarding their bodies

-J-Lawrence P. Catubigan